COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer opens Southeastern Conference play on the road, traveling to Norman, Okla., to face the Oklahoma Sooners at John Crain Field on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. for its fifth road match of the year. The programs meet for the 17th time, with Missouri having claimed the most recent matchup, 3-1, at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on Oct. 18, 2024.

PRE-MATCH PRESS
-Missouri opens SEC play on the road at Oklahoma, coming off a 5-0 rout of Southeast Missouri State on Senior Night that matched its season high for goals and lifted the Tigers to 3-3-1.
-Friday’s match is the SEC opener for both programs, the start of an 11-game conference slate for Missouri.
-The Tigers are looking to win their 11th SEC opener since joining the conference in 2012, holding a 10-4-0 record, including seven in a row from 2012-2018.
-Brianna Buels (Indianapolis, Ind.) needed only seconds to strike 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.
-Rylie Morse (Lebanon, Ohio) notched the first two goals of her career on Senior Night, as the freshman found the net in the 15th and 65th minutes of Missouri’s 5-0 win over SEMO.
-Freshman Lana Adams (Perryville, Mo.) set the tone with a pair of first-half goals against the Redhawks, striking in the 11th and 23rd minutes to record her first multi-goal game and pull even with Landis Canada (Fenton, Mich.) for the team lead at three goals.
-Friday’s match is set for 7 p.m. at John Crain Field in Norman, Okla., and will stream on SEC Network+, with live stats and in-match updates available at MUTigers.com and on X at @MizzouSoccer.

HOME COOKING
-Mizzou welcomed a total of 4,393 fans to the newly renovated 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 of six programs in the country to host 2,000+ fans in at least two home matches in the 2026 season (Michigan State, South Carolina, Tennessee, BYU, Texas Tech).
-The renovation, possible by Audrey J. Walton’s donation, which marked 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
-Oklahoma enters unbeaten at 6-0-2, most recently playing nationally ranked BYU to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 5.
-The Sooners boast the SEC’s most prolific attack, pacing the league in goals (31), points (90) and goal differential (plus-26).
-Friday’s match is the SEC opener for both programs and is the programs’ first meeting in Norman as SEC members.
-Missouri claimed the most recent meeting between the programs, a 3-1 win on Oct. 18, 2024, at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.
-Oklahoma is powered by Kayla Keefer, who leads the nation in both goals (11) and points (24), goals per game (1.38) and points per game (3.00) during the Sooners’ unbeaten start.

LAST TIME OUT
-Missouri dominated Southeast Missouri State 5-0 on Senior Night on Friday, Sept. 4, at Audrey J. Walton Stadium, matching its season high for goals in a second straight 5-0 win over the Redhawks and improving to 3-3-1.
-Adams and Morse each scored twice and earned the first multi-goal games of both their careers, with Canada adding a goal of her own, as the Tigers scored three times before halftime.
-Missouri allowed just one shot all night, with three goalkeepers combining for the clean sheet, and finished with a 16-1 edge in shots and a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Missouri ranks among the national leaders in corner kicks, averaging 7.86 per game to sit 18th nationally and fourth in the SEC.
-The back line has been stingy: the Tigers are third in the SEC in save percentage (.852) and fifth in goals-against average (0.57), with senior Riley Wilkerson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) fourth in the league individually in save percentage (.800).
-Adams and Canada share the team lead with three goals apiece, and each is credited with a game-winner this season.
-The Tigers rank in the top half of the SEC in shot accuracy, converting 47.9 percent of their shots on target, good for sixth in the league.

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 Yang 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 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 opened 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 2025.
-The continuity has shown early. Through the first seven matches, Missouri held a 94-46 edge in total shots and a 45-27 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 four goals in 2026, recording clean sheets against Western Kentucky, NIU and SEMO while conceding one apiece to Murray State, Saint Louis, Missouri State and Creighton.
-Center backs Mia Yang (Leawood, Kan.) and Morgan Meador (Ballwin, Mo.), 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.
-Kate Phillips (Fishers, Ind.), 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.

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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