The treacherous three-game road trip continued for Mizzou Soccer, this time taking on the No. 15 Memphis Tigers. This is the second straight year of the Tiger-on-Tiger matchup, and Memphis got the best of Mizzou again with a 2-1 win.
Junior defender Mia Yang became Mizzou’s unlikely hero in the 42nd minute by heading in the first goal of her career off a Landis Canada free kick. Yang put her body on the line in a crowd of defenders and squeezed the ball into the bottom left of the goal.
The match was knotted 1-1 heading into halftime, with the defense-heavy strategy working well for head coach Stefanie Golan. She also elected to only go three players deep into her bench for the first half of the ranked match.
Through the first 15 minutes of the match, neither team connected on many scoring opportunities. Memphis had the lone shot attempt of the match in the seventh minute, and there was not another shot until the 21st minute, also by Memphis.
Mizzou’s defense could only hold out for so long with the attack falling short through the majority of the first half. Freshman forward Ellis Kelly found the back of the net in the 26th minute for Memphis off the pass from sophomore forward Elise Perron. After going down 1-0, Mizzou finally logged a shot attempt just a minute after the goal, courtesy of sophomore forward Emily Derucki.
Kelly is off to an insane start to her collegiate career with five goals on seven shots. She also has three assists on the season and leads the AAC in points.
The offense for Mizzou increased its pressure in the second half with three shots through the first 15 minutes, two on goal. Senior forward Keegan Good nearly got the second goal of the match in the 58th minute, going cross-body from right-to-left, aiming for the left post, but sophomore goalkeeper Abby Kudla made the diving save.
Despite an increased effort on the defensive end, Memphis secured a 2-1 lead in the 71st minute on the give-and-go from junior forward Ashley Henderson to sophomore midfielder Ai Kitagawa. Junior goalkeeper Kate Phillips dove for the save attempt, and the ball unfortunately bounced off the left post, then off Phillips’ head and into the net.
There was no equalizer for Mizzou and only one shot attempt after Memphis took the lead. Another case of the Tigers from Columbia playing a close affair, but failing to seal the deal.
Odds and Ends
Junior midfielder Olivia Chianelli received the start after coming off the bench against Saint Louis. There was another change made to the lineup, and instead of moving Sophomore defender McKenna Moran back to defense, freshman Ava Lamothe got the nod for her first career start.
Derucki is still searching for her first goal this season with seven shots through four matches, but the goal is inevitable given her increased aggressiveness and comfort level this year. She currently leads Mizzou in assists with three, so the ball is bound to reward her soon for her unselfishness.
Mizzou finished this match with 10 shot attempts, three more than its previous match against Saint Louis. The downfall was the 11 fouls that led to free-kick opportunities for Memphis.
Before Mizzou comes home, they have an in-state road contest at Missouri State on Sunday, August 31, at 1 p.m. This match should give Golan’s crew a chance to breathe after back-to-back ranked opponents, but this cannot be a match that goes overlooked.
