COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer travels to Omaha, Nebraska, as it battles Creighton for its fourth road match of the year on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. at Morrison Stadium. This marks the fourth meeting between the programs, with Mizzou most recently besting the Bluejays by a 3-1 margin in the series’ first road match for the Tigers on August 20, 2023.
PRE-MATCH PRESS
-Missouri hits the road Sunday to face Creighton, looking to build on its 4-0 victory over Northern Illinois that delivered the Tigers’ first home win of the season and lifted them to 2-2-1.
-Junior Landis Canada (Fenton, Mich.) scored twice in the win, the first multi-goal game of her career, as the team posted a season-high four goals and outshot the Huskies 15-4 with a 12-1 edge in corner kicks.
-Freshmen Lana Adams (Perryville, Mo.) and Petra Bandula (Oakville, Ontario) each scored their first career goals, while senior goalkeeper Riley Wilkerson (San Luis Obsipo, Calif) made a season-high four saves for her first shutout of the year.
-Creighton enters at 1-2-1, coming off a 1-0 home shutout of Kansas City on Thursday, its first win of 2026. Prior to the result, it recorded a scoreless draw at Iowa State and road losses at Colorado College and Air Force.
-The Bluejays, picked fourth in the Big East preseason poll, are led by head coach Jimmy Walker and have reached the Big East Tournament in each of the past two seasons following a 7-8-4 finish in 2025.
-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.
-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.) was credited with her first game-winning goal in the team’s win against the Racers, putting Mizzou up 2-1 in the 50th minute, her third time finding the back of the net in her collegiate career.
-Sunday’s match is set for 1 p.m. at Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Neb., and will stream on ESPN+, with live stats and in-match updates available at MUTigers.com and on X at @MizzouSoccer.
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.
HOME COOKING
-Mizzou welcomed a total of 4,393 fans to Walton Stadium in its first two home matches of the season, including a program-record 2,324 attendees in the season opener against Saint Louis.
-These crowds haven’t just ranked among the top in program history, but nationally as well. Missouri is one four programs in the country to host 2,000+ fans in at least two home matches in the 2026 season (South Carolina, Tennessee, BYU).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-Creighton finished 7-8-4 in 2025 (4-3-3 Big East), placing fourth in the league and reaching the Big East Tournament for a second straight season.
-The Bluejays are led by head coach Jimmy Walker and were picked fourth in the 2026 Big East preseason poll.
-Creighton has tightened up defensively of late, posting back-to-back shutouts after conceding three goals in each of its first two matches.
-The Bluejays enter at 1-2-1, coming off a 1-0 home win over Kansas City on Thursday, their first of 2026, following a scoreless draw at Iowa State and road losses at Colorado College and Air Force.
LAST TIME OUT
-Creighton finished 7-8-4 in 2025 (4-3-3 Big East), placing fourth in the league and reaching the Big East Tournament for a second straight season.
-The Bluejays are led by head coach Jimmy Walker and were picked fourth in the 2026 Big East preseason poll.
-Creighton has tightened up defensively of late, posting back-to-back shutouts after conceding three goals in each of its first two matches.
-The Bluejays enter at 1-2-1, coming off a 1-0 home win over Kansas City on Thursday, their first of 2026, following a scoreless draw at Iowa State and road losses at Colorado College and Air Force.
ACCURACY IS KEY
-Missouri’s offense has taken a sizable step forward compared to the opening five matches of 2025, putting 28 of its 57 shots on target, good for a .491 percentage compared to last year’s .407 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 Mia Yang (Leawood, Kan.) 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.).
-Kate Phillips (Fishers, Ind.) 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.
STRENGTH IN GOAL
-Missouri has leaned on an experienced, proven tandem in goal, with seniors Phillips and Wilkerson splitting starts to open 2026.
-Phillips, who ranked among the top five in the SEC in total saves a season ago, opened the year with her seventh career shutout in a scoreless draw at Western Kentucky and turned in a seven-save effort against Saint Louis.
-Wilkerson, who closed 2025 with 13 saves across back-to-back shutout draws, has earned the win at Murray State and blanked Northern Illinois with a season-high four saves.
-Together, the two have held opponents to just three goals through five matches, with each recording a clean sheet.
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.
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).
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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