The “Mizzou to the ‘Lou” Series kicked off Sunday when in-state foes Missouri and Missouri State faced off in St. Louis.  On the backs of Kylee Simmons and Bri Buel, the Tigers  defeated  the Bears 2-0 for Missouri State’s first loss of the season  . The Tigers are now 4-1-2, while the Bears, fall to 5-1-2 .

Missouri State’s offense was strong early, as the Bears put together a few calculated drives into Tiger territory. Missouri State’s defense was also in control to start, holding Missouri to very few shots  on goal – and the shots that made it through were not dangerous ones.

The tone changed in the 22nd minute when sophomore forward Kylee Simmons’ header found the back of the net on a perfect pass from sophomore back Bella Carillo to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. Simmons’ goal was only the third score Bears senior goalkeeper Camielle Day had allowed all year.

Missouri maintained possession for much smaller periods of time than usual, as the Tigers didn’t apply their trademark pressure in the first half. The more conservative approach kept the ball out of the Tigers’ control, but it limited the breakaways that have plagued Missouri this season.

The Tigers came out of the gates firing in the second half, harassing the Bears penalty box and getting three  shots on goal in the first 6 minutes of play. Missouri converted on the third shot – freshman forward Bri Buels’s 53rd-minute strike landed in the top of the net. It’s the second goal of the star freshman’s impressive rookie campaign. Freshman midfielder Olivia Chianelli got the assist.

Missouri continued to blow by the Bears back line, getting five  more shots off by the 65th minute, but none found their way into the goal.

Play got chippy toward the end of the half as Missouri State swarmed the Tigers, desperate to evade the shutout. Despite several dangerous drives in the final minutes, the Bears failed to score. It was sophomore goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach’s first clean sheet of the season.

The Tigers will start their road trip down south next Friday when they travel to Gainesville to take on Florida at 6 p.m. CT.