Mizzou Soccer Sets Record Attendance, Falls to Saint Louis, 1-0Mizzou Soccer Sets Record Attendance, Falls to Saint Louis, 1-0
Soccer

Mizzou Soccer Sets Record Attendance, Falls to Saint Louis, 1-0

A first-half penalty kick decided the in-state home opener as 2,324 packed the newly renovated Walton Stadium.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer dropped its home opener to in-state Saint Louis, 1-0, before a program-record crowd of 2,324 on Thursday afternoon at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium.

A first-half penalty kick proved the difference, but senior goalkeeper Kate Phillips (Fishers, Ind.) kept the Tigers (1-1-1) within a goal, making five of her season-high seven saves against the Billikens (2-1-0) in the opening 45 minutes.

The announced crowd of 2,324 was the largest in program history for the Tigers’ first home match at the renovated venue.

“Obviously, we wish that we would have found a way to get a different result,” head coach Stefanie Golan said. “There were some good things and a lot that we can learn from. We wanted to have more of the ball and switch the point of attack, and we didn’t do that as well as we needed to. We’ll get back in training and continue to hammer it until we do it consistently.”

Saint Louis broke through in the 17th minute, converting a penalty kick for what proved to be the only goal. Phillips was otherwise perfect in the half, denying three Billiken opportunities inside the opening 11 minutes and adding stops in the 29th and 35th minutes to keep Missouri within one at the midpoint.

The Tigers flipped the run of play after halftime, out-shooting Saint Louis 4-3 over the final 45 minutes and earning their first corner kick in the 62nd minute. 

Senior Brianna Buels (Indianapolis, Ind.) drew a save from the Billikens’ keeper in the 70th minute, and Missouri generated back-to-back looks midway through the half, with senior Mia Yang (Leawood, Kan.) firing just wide and junior Emily Derucki (Wildwood, Mo.) forcing another stop in the 75th minute.

Missouri kept pressing in the closing stages, and sophomore Aly Bryant (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) nearly pulled the Tigers even in the 89th minute, drawing a save to preserve the 1-0 final.


UP NEXT
Missouri returns to the road on Sunday as it meets Missouri State at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium at 3 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

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