COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer returns to the newly renovated Audrey J. Walton Stadium for its second home match of the season, hosting Northern Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. The contest is the first-ever meeting between the Tigers and Huskies, marking the second time this season Missouri has faced an opponent it had never played before.
PRE-MATCH PRESS
-Missouri returns to Audrey J. Walton Stadium for its second home match of the season, looking to snap a two-game skid after a 1-0 loss at Missouri State on Sunday dropped it to 1-2-1.
-The Tigers controlled the run of play, outshooting the Bears 9-5, including a 6-2 mark after halftime, and a 10-3 edge in corner kicks, as junior Landis Canada (Fenton, Mich.) and freshman Lana Adams (Perryville, Mo.) generated the best looks.
-It marked Missouri’s second straight 1-0 loss despite outshooting its opponent, as the Tigers keep searching for a finishing touch.
-Northern Illinois enters at 1-1-1 in its first season in the Horizon League, most recently rolling to a 3-0 home win over Northern Iowa on Aug. 23.
-Despite the loss, Mizzou welcomed a program-record 2,324 in its first match at the newly renovated Audrey J. Walton Stadium in the team’s home opener against Saint Louis on Aug. 20.
-Senior Brianna Buels (Indianapolis, Ind.) needed only seconds to strike and open the match against Murray State, scoring in a program-record 14 seconds. She finished with two goals, the second coming in the 67th minute.
-Emily Derucki (Wildwood, Mo.) followed Buels and was credited with the first game-winning goal of her career, putting Mizzou up 2-1 in the 50th minute, her third time finding the back of the net in her collegiate career.
TAKING THE PITCH
-Missouri enters its 31st season of competition in 2026.
-The Tigers return the majority of a roster that gained significant experience a season ago, including their top returning scorer, both starting center backs and both goalkeepers from 2025.
-Mizzou opened the year with two matches in the Bluegrass State, playing Western Kentucky to a scoreless draw and winning at Murray State, 3-1.
FACILITY FACELIFT
-The Tigers return to an upgraded Audrey J. Walton Stadium for their home opener, part of a project funded by a landmark philanthropic gift from Audrey J. Walton announced in January 2025.
-The gift, one of the largest in Mizzou Athletics history and the largest ever dedicated to Olympic sports, funded a new natural grass playing surface and subsurface improvements.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-Northern Illinois finished 4-10-3 in 2025 (2-7-2 MAC), following a 2024 campaign that produced nine wins, good for its most since 2010.
-Now competing in the Horizon League after leaving the Mid-American Conference this year, the Huskies are led by head coach Michael O’Neill.
-Northern Illinois has been productive in the final third to open 2026, scoring in each of its first three matches and averaging two goals per game.
-The Huskies enter at 1-1-1, most recently blanking Northern Iowa 3-0 at home on Aug. 23 after a loss at Illinois State and a 2-2 draw with DePaul.
LAST TIME OUT
-Missouri dropped a 1-0 decision at Missouri State on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield.
-The match stayed scoreless into the 85th minute before the Bears found the game’s only goal.
-The Tigers controlled play, outshooting Missouri State 9-5, including 6-2 after halftime, and holding a 10-3 edge in corner kicks.
-Canada and Adams created Missouri’s best chances, but the Tigers couldn’t break through.
-It was Missouri’s second straight 1-0 loss despite outshooting its opponent.
ACCURACY IS KEY
-Missouri’s offense has taken a sizable step forward compared to the opening four matches of 2025, putting 20 of its 42 shots on target, good for a .476 percentage compared to last year’s .326 at the same point.
-In fact, the team’s impressive shots on goal percentage in its first three matches (.545) ranked first in the Southeastern Conference.
THE CORE IS BACK
-Missouri returns the bulk of its 2025 roster, a young group that logged heavy minutes a season ago and comes back a year older.
-Buels, Canada and Mia Yang (Leawood, Kan.) were named to the 2026 SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist, with all three earning their second straight watchlist nod after first being honored a season ago.
-The back line returns Yang and Meador, who started together throughout 2025.
-The midfield brings back Olivia Chianelli (Arlington Heights, Ill.), McKenna Moran (Rowlett, Texas), Ava Vetter (Clayton, Mo.), Aly Bryant (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) and Monica Brauner (Kansas City, Mo.), while the attack returns Buels, Derucki, Mia Devrouax (Florissant, Mo.), Canada and Landry Hopkins (Dardenne Prarie, Mo.).
-Phillips and Wilkerson both return in goal.
-The Tigers return at least 10 starters from a season ago, marking just the fourth time in program history Missouri has brought back double-digit starters, with all three previous teams reaching the NCAA Tournament.
TURNING THE PAGE
-Missouri opens a new season looking to build on the flashes it showed in 2025, when the Tigers pushed several ranked opponents and closed the year with back-to-back shutouts.
-Mizzou’s signature result came in its SEC opener: a 3-1 win over Texas, the program’s first multi-goal SEC-opening victory since 2017.
-The Tigers return that experience and a defensive foundation that kept them in matches all fall.
-The continuity has shown early. Through the first four matches, Missouri held a 42-34 edge in total shots and a 20-17 advantage in shots on goal while allowing less than a goal per game.
STINGY IN THE BACKFIELD
-Defense was Missouri’s calling card in 2025: the Tigers dropped just two matches by three or more goals all season.
-The Tigers have allowed just three goals in 2026, blanking Western Kentucky in the opener while limiting the Hilltoppers to three shots on target before conceding one at Murray State, Missouri State and against Saint Louis.
-Mizzou closed the year with a 0-0 draw against SEC-leading Arkansas in its home finale.
-Center backs Yang and Meador, who played all but three minutes together in 2025, return to anchor the back line.
SIDELINE STAFF
-Missouri added Callie McKinney to Stefanie Golan’s staff as an assistant coach in May, arriving after a season at SMU and five at Bellarmine, where she served as head coach in 2024.
-At SMU, she helped the Mustangs to an 8-8-2 record against one of the nation’s toughest schedules; at Bellarmine, she guided the Knights to Division I-era program records for wins and ASUN victories in her lone season at the helm.
-A Franklin, Tenn., native, McKinney played at Louisville (2016-19), reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of her final two seasons.
-Missouri is one of three in the Power Four that lists nine or more women on staff roster pages (Georgia, Maryland).
STRENGTH IN GOAL
-Missouri returns an experienced, proven tandem in goal, with seniors Phillips and Wilkerson both back to compete for time between the posts after seeing starts in 2025.
-Phillips, a Fishers, Indiana, native, ranked among the top five in the SEC in total saves a season ago, starting all but the final two matches and holding opponents to one goal or fewer on numerous occasions.
-Wilkerson closed 2025 in form, making 13 saves across the Tigers’ final two matches, both of which were shutout draws, coming against Arkansas and Auburn.
SHOW-ME STATE
-Missouri's 2026 roster features 10 in-state players, continuing one of the most home-grown stretches in program history.
-It marks just the second time the program has carried 10 or more Missourians in three or more consecutive seasons (2024–26); the only other run came across Mizzou's first five seasons (1996–2000).
-The Tigers set a program record with 15 Missouri natives on the 2025 roster.
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