'We can taste it and want to eat it': A hungry Mizzou soccer team eyes SEC tournament trip

Yet, for Mizzou soccer, there is a different type of hunger lingering at practice. An appetite that propels it past early struggles in order to achieve its season-long goal: making the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Despite starting the year 0-4 in Southeastern Conference play, Missouri, now 1-6-1 in conference, has found itself in the mix of SEC tournament qualification with a stronger October.

The 14th-place Tigers have two regular-season matches remaining to jump into the 12-team field. If they can do so, it will be their first SEC tournament appearance since 2020 and first with sixth-year coach Stefanie Golan at the helm.

Setting the table

Mizzou survived an early gantlet and has a favorable conclusion to its regular season. As it stands Wednesday, it faces No. 15-seeded Texas A&M and No. 12-seeded LSU, both at home.

Florida and LSU are tied at eight points for the 12th spot. Mizzou, with four points, needs some help to jump one of those teams, as well as 13th-seeded Tennessee at six points.

Wins are worth three points, draws are worth one and losses are zero.

(12) Florida: The Gators play No. 25 Auburn, currently the SEC's six seed, on Thursday and end their season Nov. 1 against the No. 8 seed, Georgia. Florida has lost three of its last four games, including a home match against LSU.

(12) LSU: The Tigers could deliver a significant blow to Mizzou if they take down Mississippi State, the current 10 seed in the SEC, on Sunday. With a win, LSU climbs to 11 points, an unreachable figure even with two Mizzou wins.

LSU then heads to Columbia for a match against Mizzou on Nov. 1 that could determine a tournament bid. After total points, the first tiebreaker for tournament qualification is head-to-head record, while the second is points earned against common opponents, making the stakes potentially even higher.

(13) Tennessee: The Lady Vols face the toughest path of the three. They face two schools inside the SEC's top five. Tennessee plays a No. 7-ranked, No. 3-seeded Alabama team on the road Friday before taking on the SEC's current No. 4 seed, Oklahoma, on Nov. 1 at home.

Starving for a win

To put it plainly, Mizzou has a lot on the line in its matchup with Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Thursday at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.

If the Tigers lose either of their final two matches, they are eliminated from tournament contention. Mizzou needs to make up four points in the standings to qualify for the SEC tournament, meaning it cannot afford a loss to either Texas A&M or LSU.

With little margin for error, and losses in six of eight SEC matches so far, the Tigers can't let their eyes get too big for their stomachs.

"Yes, we have two games left, but this first one is the most important game that we have," Golan said Wednesday. "So, staying in that moment, staying on the front foot, I think it's really important for us to start this game very, very strong."

Mizzou cannot overlook its opponent, even given Texas A&M's 0-7-1 SEC record and its defensive vulnerabilities in wide spaces and on set pieces, Golan identified.

Of the Aggies' seven conference losses, five have come by only one goal. The team is coming off a 4-3 loss to LSU on Sunday after a 0-0 draw against then-No. 6 South Carolina on Thursday.

"They're better than the record, I'll tell you that," Golan said. "They are physical. They are a team who has some dangerous players on attack."

Texas A&M forward Ireland Churchill is the most prolific member on the Aggies offense. The freshman is tied for fourth in the SEC with nine goals and is tied for the lead in shots with 74.

Still, the Tigers have reasons to believe. After a slow start, things have picked up for them in the month of October.

While their 1-2-1 record might not jump off the page, they have shown much better form in its last four matches.

The stretch began with a 1-1 draw against Arkansas on Oct. 2 that gave Mizzou its first SEC point. Then, the Tigers managed a close 1-0 loss to then-No.3 Vanderbilt on Oct. 9 before a commanding 3-0 road victory over Ole Miss on Thursday. Though the five-day roadtrip ended with a 2-0 loss to Georgia on Sunday, the team has taken leaps from where it started.

"We've adjusted our shape, and they have responded really well to that and have bought into the things that we are seeing that can set them up to be successful," Golan said. "I think they're in a place where we've scored goals; we've been able to stay toe-to-toe with really, really top teams."

If Mizzou can continue its surge with a win over Texas A&M, the Tigers could jump over Tennessee to 13th, given the Lady Vols' tough matchup in Tuscaloosa. An LSU loss to Mississippi State on Sunday would then make it a win-and-in situation for Mizzou on Nov. 1.

But before the Tigers can quell their postseason hunger, they need to set the table against Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Thursday.

A loss sours the season, a tie makes the math tougher to digest and a win sweetens Mizzou's growing odds to make the postseason.

"It's been a while for this program," Golan said. "We can taste it and we want to eat it, so let's go."