COLUMBIA, Mo. – With a 1-1 double overtime tie against Texas A&M Thursday night in the regular season finale, the Mizzou soccer team finished a program best second in the Southeastern Conference standings. The Tigers finished the regular season 9-4-5 overall and 7-2-2 in the SEC, while the Aggies finished 13-5-1 and 6-4-1.
A win would have given Mizzou a share of the SEC regular season title but, with the tie, the team finished two points behind champion Florida.
With the score knotted at 1-1 in the 104th minute, junior Rachel Hignett (Llandough, Wales) was fouled in the box, earning a penalty kick for the Tigers. Aggie keeper Danielle Rice guessed correctly on the attempt from senior Candace Johnson (Dallas, Texas) and stonewalled the shot. Mizzou managed two more shots in the waning minutes but neither found the back of the net.
The Tiger offense bombarded the Aggies in the final 65 minutes of action, outshooting the visitors 16-4 in the second half and overtime. Missouri also had an 11-3 edge in shots on goal in the match and forced the Texas A&M keepers to make 10 saves.
Mizzou seemed to score in the 45th minute on a miss-clear in the box. Hignett flicked a header on goal that was saved by the Texas A&M keeper when the rebound deflected off senior Lauren Flynn (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) and over the line. However, Flynn was called for the foul on the goalie to nullify the score.
After the Aggies went up 1-0 in the 52nd minute, the Tigers amped up their offense in search of the equalizer.
The tying goal finally came for Mizzou in the 63rd minute of action. Sophomore Kaitlyn Clark (Liberty, Mo.) sent a perfect cross from the left endline to the front of the net, where senior Reagan Russell (Sugar Land, Texas) had no trouble heading in for a 1-1 match. The goal was the third for Russell in four matches and fourth overall on the season, while Clark's assist was her third in as many games.
Neither team could break through in the remainder of regulation, sending the game to overtime. In the second extra session, the Tigers earned a corner and Clark sent a perfect cross into the box but Johnson's header struck off the post and Mizzou could not put in the rebound.
Redshirt sophomore keeper Kristen Rivers (Lawrenceville, Ga.) made two saves in goal.
As the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, the Tigers received a first-round bye and play the winner of the Kentucky-LSU match at Noon on Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Orange Beach, Ala.
