COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer closes its road swing with a trip to Fayetteville to face Arkansas at Razorback Field on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6:30 p.m. The match marks the 14th meeting between the programs, with Arkansas holding a 9-3-1 edge in the all-time series. The sides last played to a scoreless draw in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 19, 2025.
PRE-MATCH PRESS
-The Tigers’ 0-4-0 league start has come against a tough draw of Oklahoma, Kentucky, Auburn and No. 17 South Carolina, a group that owns a combined 31-8-6 record this season.
-Nine of Missouri’s 14 goals have come in the second half, where the Tigers have outscored opponents 9-4, compared to a 10-5 deficit before the break.
-Missouri ranks second in the SEC in saves per game, with senior Kate Phillips (Fishers, Ind.) taking over in net down the stretch after a season-high eight saves against Auburn.
-The offense has leaned on its youth, with freshmen Rylie Morse (Lebanon, Ohio) and Lana Adams (Perryville, Mo.) sharing the team lead at three goals apiece and five different players scoring Missouri’s 14 goals.
-Brianna Buels (Indianapolis, Ind.) owns the fastest goal in program history, scoring 14 seconds into the win at Murray State, and has been the Tigers’ most accurate shooter, putting 11 of her 15 attempts on target.
-Arkansas enters 4-4-2 (2-1-1 SEC), coming off a 1-0 home win over Auburn under 15th-year head coach Colby Hale.
-Missouri returns home to face No. 3 Vanderbilt on Oct. 9 to close the stretch.
-Friday’s match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT at Razorback Field in Fayetteville, Ark., and will air on SEC Network+, with live stats and in-match updates available at MUTigers.com and on X at @MizzouSoccer.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-Arkansas enters at 4-4-2 (2-1-1 SEC), coming off a 1-0 home win over Auburn on Sept. 27.
-The Razorbacks’ attack is paced by senior Zoe Susi, who leads the team with four goals and two game-winners, while senior Bella Field has added three goals among Arkansas’ 22 on the season.
-Junior goalkeeper Keegan Smith has handled the load in net, posting 28 saves and three shutouts.
-Head coach Colby Hale, who guided Arkansas to the 2021 College Cup and a long run of NCAA Tournament appearances, has the Razorbacks at 2-1-1 in SEC play.
LAST TIME OUT
-Missouri fell 3-0 at No. 17 South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium, dropping to 3-7-1 (0-4-0 SEC).
-The Gamecocks outshot the Tigers 16-5, breaking through in the 42nd minute before adding goals in the 71st and 80th.
-Phillips kept it scoreless deep into the first half, finishing with four saves.
-Landis Canada (Fenton, Mich.) led Missouri with two shots as the Tigers totaled five attempts on the day.
THROUGH THE GAUNTLET
-Missouri drew a tough opening to SEC play, with its first four league opponents (Oklahoma, Kentucky, Auburn and No. 17 South Carolina) owning a combined 31-8-6 record this season.
-The Tigers went winless in the stretch but stayed in the fight, dropping three of the four by two goals or fewer.
FIRST STRIKE
-Missouri is a perfect 3-0-0 this season when it scores the game’s first goal.
-The Tigers are 0-7-0 when the opponent strikes first, trailing early in each of their losses.
-Their lone draw came in a scoreless tie at Western Kentucky.
SECOND-HALF TIGERS
-Missouri has been a better team after the break, outscoring opponents 9-4 in second halves this season.
-The Tigers have been outscored 10-5 before halftime but have generated more of their offense late, taking 66 of their 121 shots in second halves.
BY THE NUMBERS
-Missouri ranks second in the SEC in saves per game (3.91).
-The Tigers sit eighth in the SEC in shot accuracy, putting 43.8 percent of their shots on target.
-Missouri has out-cornered its opponents 64-49 on the season.
SPREADING IT AROUND
-Missouri’s 14 goals have come from five different scorers, with no player netting more than three.
-Morse, Canada and Adams share the team lead with three apiece, while Buels and Emily Derucki (Wildwood, Mo.) have added two each.
-Buels has been the most accurate of the group, putting 11 of her 15 attempts on target (.733).
-Canada, Adams and Derucki have each recorded a game-winner.
STRENGTH IN GOAL
-Missouri has leaned on an experienced senior tandem in goal, with Phillips and Riley Wilkerson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) combining for 43 saves through 11 matches.
-Phillips has taken over the net in the last two matches, including a season-high eight saves against Auburn, and leads the team with 22 saves (.786).
-Wilkerson opened the year as the primary starter, earning the win at Murray State and blanking Northern Illinois among her 20 saves.
FRESHMEN FLASHES
-Freshmen have been central to the attack, led by Morse, who has started nine of 11 matches and put 12 of her 20 shots on target (.600).
-Morse scored the first two goals of her career on Senior Night against SEMO, a 5-0 win in which Adams added a first-half brace.
-Freshman Petra Bandula (Oakville, Ontario) has also chipped in a goal off the bench.
ANCHORED IN THE BACK
-Center backs Morgan Meador (Ballwin, Mo.) and Mia Yang (Leawood, Kan.) have been fixtures, with Meador logging a team-high 980 minutes and Yang 848 across 10-plus starts apiece.
-Missouri posted three clean sheets in non-conference play, blanking Western Kentucky, Northern Illinois and SEMO.
-The back line and goalkeeping have kept Missouri competitive against a tough schedule.
-Midfielder McKenna Moran (Rowlett, Texas) and forward Mia Devrouax (Florissant, Mo.) have also logged heavy minutes, at 949 and 893, respectively.
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), with the only other run coming across Mizzou’s first five seasons (1996-2000).
-The Tigers set a program record with 15 Missouri natives on the 2025 roster.
HOME COOKING
-Mizzou drew a program-record 2,324 fans to the renovated Audrey J. Walton Stadium in the home opener against Saint Louis, making Missouri one of eight programs nationally to host 2,000-plus fans in at least two home matches.
-The renovation, funded by a gift from Audrey J. Walton (one of the 10 largest in Mizzou Athletics history and the largest ever dedicated to Olympic sports), added a new natural grass playing surface and subsurface improvements.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
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