Mizzou women’s soccer opened SEC play Thursday against Texas A&M.Both teams were coming off losses to end the preseason, so this game was a defining one for conference play.
Mizzou started off very strong and stayed aggressive throughout the game. However Texas A&M ultimately kept possession for 56% of the game. Mizzou ended with a strong push after being fired up after A&M’s Margo Matula scored in the 62’ minute of the game. In a post game interview, Mizzou’s Morgan Meador put it best.
“Once we got scored on, the momentum kind of shifted. We got on our front foot,” Meador said.
In a turning point of the game, Missouri defender Rachel Kutella was subbed off just before the corner kick that resulted in the goal. An impact in the play prior forced her to go off to the sideline. When asked about the game changing goal, Missouri head coach Stefanie Golan said the officials had some hand in the matter.
“We didn’t want to sub her off… we were being told by the official that he would wave her on after the corner was taken, and we didn’t want to be a player down, Golan said.”
This was another small part of a theme plaguing the season, injuries. While Kutella continued the rest of the game, some notable absences were Elena Zuchowski, who will be out for the rest of the season, as well as Bella Hollenbach and Shania Spriggs, who the team hopes will be back soon. Coach Golan gave props after the game to other players filling new roles due to these injuries.
“The players who are stepping into roles that are different to what they’ve had are doing a really solid job,” Golan said.
Some stand out players, like Kate Phillips, did make it tough on A&M. She made her first start of the season as goalkeeper and ended the game with 7 saves against A&M’s 18 total shots. Kylee Simmons also made a statement tonight with four of the Tigers’ nine shots, two of which were shots on goal.
What is next after this 0-1 loss? The team travels to Arkansas for their next conference game Sunday, Sep. 22.
“We know how tough it’s gonna be, and this loss, we’re gonna let it hurt for right now, but I think that is going to give us a lot of motivation to come into this next game and get that result we want and that we deserve,” Meador said.
The team is seeing an improvement from preseason to SEC play, despite the obstacles in front of them and during the game, they had a strong end and are looking to carry that into this weekend.