When Cory Kaufman went down, his teammates stepped up.
Kaufman, a senior who has never beaten Illinois, went down with a knee injury in the second quarter. At the halftime break the team dedicated the rest of the game to him. The defense tightened up, giving up just one goal in the third. But the offense was unable to score.
The Tigers kicked into a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter, putting up five goals while holding Illinois to just one. Missouri dominated, controlling the ball and momentum, but there wasn’t much they could do about the clock. When time ran out the Tigers were on the short end of the 8-7 score.
The extent of Kaufman’s injury won’t be known until next week.
Here’s a breakdown of Mizzou’s scoring:
- Gerry Leonard (3) scored one goal and had three assists
- Zach Nisson (6) had one goal and two assists
- Walter Reilly (24) scored two goals
- Matt Vollmer (15) scored two goals
- Jake Huebert (13) scored one goal
