Mizzou soccer overcomes early blitz, keeps postseason hopes alive

Mizzou won its penultimate regular-season game 3-2, taking a win over a Texas A&M after bouncing back from an early 2-0 deficit to stay alive in SEC Tournament qualification. The win was the largest SEC comeback for the Tigers since 2016, when it overcame a two-goal deficit to Georgia. A loss would’ve ended Missouri’s postseason aspirations.

Two set pieces, one to end the first half and another to start the second, led Mizzou to flip the score.

With just four seconds remaining in the first half, Mizzou equalized, as Rylie Morse tapped home a Emily Derucki pass after a corner taken by Landis Canada.

“You saw Landis sprinting to get that ball,” Mizzou coach Stefanie Golan said. “I literally thought she had broken her ankle or something over there, and the service was great.”

Less than a minute out of the halftime break, it was Morse’s free kick that set up a Brianna Buels goal to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage. Morse leads Mizzou with four assists, while her three goals are also tied for a team best.

“Honestly, I just serve the ball, and it’s my teammates on the other end who can get through the defenders and get a goal out of it,” Morse said.

Morse is no stranger to set piece contributions. Golan identified her skill as a particular advantage against an Aggies’ team she described as being “vulnerable” on such attempts before the match.

“(Morse) knows where the service is supposed to go, and having somebody who can consistently put the ball where you want it allows you to have some different setups and be a little bit less predictable,” Golan said Wednesday.

Taryn Chance opened the scoring for the Tigers in the 24th minute. Lana Adams recorded an assist on the play, her th

Mizzou (5-9-2, 2-6-1 SEC) moves past Tennessee into 13th-seed position in the SEC with seven points. It needs to jump either Florida or LSU to crack the top 12 in order to qualify for its first SEC tournament since 2020.

“Our seniors haven’t been to the SEC tournament in their four years here,” Morse said. “I think, as the freshmen and sophomores, and even the juniors, what we want for them is to be able to go there in their senior year.”

An LSU loss or draw to Mississippi State, paired with either a Florida or Tennessee loss, would make the regular-season finale a win-and-in game for Missouri.

The Tigers aim to complete their season turnaround and finish off a year-long goal when they face LSU at noon Nov. 1 at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.