ATHENS, Ga. – Mizzou soccer battled a strong Georgia side on even terms through the opening hour on Sunday evening before the Bulldogs broke through twice in the second half, as the Tigers fell 2-0 at Turner Soccer Complex.

Senior goalkeeper Riley Wilkerson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) kept the Tigers (4-9-2, 1-6-1 Southeastern Conference) in it with six saves, tying her season-best, as Missouri weathered a heavy first half flurry, then pushed hard after the break against the Bulldogs (6-4-5, 3-2-3 SEC).

“I thought we competed really well against a very good team, and I was proud of how hard we worked, especially defensively,” head coach Stefanie Golan said. “We came out in the second half and put them under a lot of pressure and created some good looks, but against a team like that, it came down to a few moments. Now we get to go home with two big opportunities in front of us, and if we put our foot on the gas this week, we can still extend our season.”

Missouri faced relentless offensive pressure from Georgia throughout the opening half, but Wilkerson rose to the occasion, recording four saves.

As Georgia pressed for the opener, Wilkerson delivered a pair of spectacular saves within a two-minute span to deny the Bulldogs and help the Tigers stay scoreless into halftime.

Wilkerson continued in the 47th minute, making a spectacular diving save to deny a powerful volley from the Bulldogs and keep Georgia off the board.

Georgia broke into the scoring in the 67th minute and tacked on another in the 82nd, taking the second-half lead.

Freshman Audrey Gilbert (Plano, Texas) and sophomore Aly Bryant (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) each created scoring opportunities, but the Bulldogs’ goalkeeper turned away both attempts.

After recording just one shot in the opening half, Mizzou found its offensive rhythm and generated eight second-half shots. Despite the pressure, Missouri couldn’t find the back of the net and ultimately fell to Georgia 2-0.

UP NEXT
Missouri returns home to Columbia to host Texas A&M on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. CT at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. The Tigers celebrate their Pink Out match against the Aggies, with the contest set to be live streamed on SEC Network+.

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