After a long and hard-fought road stretch for Mizzou Soccer, they returned to Audrey J. Walton Stadium to start a four-game homestand. Unfortunately for the Tigers’ homecoming, it ended in a 2-0 defeat to the rival Illinois Fighting Illini.
The Fighting Illini punched Mizzou in the mouth coming out of halftime with a goal in the 47th minute. Senior forward Lia Howard scored the goal off her left foot
into the back right of the net on a fast break of sorts down the middle of the pitch.
More work was done by Illinois in the second half, this time it came courtesy of sophomore forward Emma Yee from outside the penalty box as she drilled the ball into the top left corner of the net. Another unassisted goal left the Tigers in a 2-0 hole despite solid first-half play.
A change was made to the starting lineup that saw sophomore midfielder McKenna Moran in for sophomore midfielder Landis Canada. Per head coach Stefanie Golan, she is recovering from a soft tissue injury and the coaching staff wanted to be cautious with conference play approaching.
Sophomore forward Emily Derucki wasted no time putting pressure on the Fighting Illini, taking a shot in the first minute of play. She is currently leading Mizzou with three assists, but has yet to find her first goal of the season.
“Every game is hard,” Derucki said about the non-conference schedule. “I mean, you go at it with the same mentality, and you just gotta fight every game.”
The first 10 minutes were a feel-out period with no team gaining a clear advantage. That was until the 12th minute, when Illinois made an impressive assault that included two shots, one on goal, until senior defender Jessica Larson made the clear. Larson is one of three Tiger defenders to play every minute of every match so far this season.
In the 34th minute, junior defender Shania Spriggs subbed onto the pitch for the first time since the season opener, where she sustained an injury. Another formerly injured player for the Tigers entered the match four minutes later, in redshirt sophomore midfielder Monica Brauner.
The score heading into the half was 0-0. Each team had four shots apiece, three of those for Mizzou being on goal, but no luck finding the back of the net. The Tigers brought the physicality, per usual, with six fouls in the first half.
In need of a response to Illinois’ early second-half goal, Mizzou’s attackers directed an assault in the 57th minute. Seniors Keegan Good and Bella Carrillo each managed a shot on goal, but Illinois’ redshirt junior goalkeeper Izzy Lee made a pair of difficult saves.
Lee made eight saves on the night and has only allowed one goal this season. Despite Mizzou being extremely efficient with its shots (eight on goal in 11 attempts), the scoreboard told a different story.
“They definitely have a good goalkeeper,” Golan said. “But we had some moments that we could have done better with the opportunities that we had as well.”
The Tigers had three different players with two or more shot attempts, yet a second-half comeback seemed well out of reach due to a stout Fighting Illini defense. This matchup has occurred every season since 2021, and the Mizzou loss makes the record 1-3-1 in the last five matches.
For this season as a whole, the Tigers now sit at 2-3-1 in 2025 with conference play on the horizon. Before we get there, Kansas City will come to Audrey J. Walton Stadium at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7.
“Always important to get a win,” Derucki said. “Obviously, we want to come out with those three points that will help us a lot in the long run and we want to win every game we can.”
