Caitlin Lezell
Journal Staff

While the Rams’ 4-7 record thus far this season may not look the greatest on paper, forward Michael Missouri has still managed to have himself quite an impressive string of games. With five goals and two assists currently under his belt, and with two of those goals scored in one game against Mount Ida on September 21st, he is definitely holding his own in this year’s lineup.
The story of how Missouri came to be a Ram in the first place is an interesting one.
Missouri, 23, is a senior at Suffolk and has been playing soccer for about 17 years. There was no real question as to whether or not he would play the game in college.
“I didn’t really choose Suffolk so much as Suffolk chose me,” Missouri said.
It just took him a few years to end up here. He first completed his freshman year of college in Norway, after living there for six years.
He then came back to the United States to complete the rest of his undergraduate education, first going to Connecticut State University where he played on their Division 1 team. But despite the athletic opportunities that he was enjoying in Connecticut, Missouri knew that he would be happier in a city like Boston, at a university such as Suffolk. And so he transferred here the following year.
Missouri has enjoyed playing for the men’s soccer team this year.
“My teammates are a great bunch of guys,” Missouri said.
Missouri most certainly brings new meaning to the title “student athlete.” As they say, the student part is supposed to come first, and Missouri’s work here at Suffolk certainly reflects this.
Missouri is an economics major and is graduating in the spring. Next year, he will attend Harvard University for two years to earn his Masters in Public Policy, and then he plans to go to law school. He is currently taking twenty credits this semester, working for the economics department, and conducting research at the Beacon Hill Institute so he has quite a busy schedule.
But when asked what his greatest accomplishment has been thus far, he humbly replied, “I haven’t actually accomplished anything yet that I want to accomplish.”
Missouri has been playing with numerous injuries this entire season, making his statistics all the more impressive. Aside from still recovering from a hip muscle injury which kept him out of the game for all of last season, he is also struggling with a torn ligament in his right ankle and a stress fracture in his right foot, among other injuries.
Whether or not he will be able to continue to play this season is currently still up in the air. But if his days as a Suffolk Ram were to soon end, Missouri can leave Suffolk at the end of this year knowing that he had a great run, and there is no question as to the fact that he has an incredible future waiting for him at Harvard, law school, and beyond.