Missouri’s first undefeated start past game 3 since 2019.
Missouri hosted Omaha on Thursday and tied 2-2 with the visiting Mavericks. Missouri is now 2-0-1 on the year, and Omaha now sits at 1-0-2. It’s the first time the Tigers have remained undefeated into their third game since 2019.
The Tigers were on their heels early, as the Mavericks put quick pressure on the Missouri backline. The consistent attack from the Omaha forwards led to several early opportunities for the offense, with the Missouri defense eventually breaking in the 7th minute. After a barrage of corner kicks from the Mavericks, they finally scored when junior forward Marissa Gohr’s strike found its way into the top right corner.
The Tigers found far less success on offense. They had several well organized drives into Maverick territory, only for most of them to sputter out. The Tigers did manage to find the back of the net once in the first half, as freshman forward Brianna Buels converted a shot on the fastbreak in the 12th minute to tie the game back up.
However, it didn’t take long for Omaha to respond. A quality push along the sideline from Gohr ended in a perfect cross which senior forward Sophia Green headed in for the Mavericks’ second goal in the 20th minute.
Omaha became much more passive in the second half, mustering very few drives into Missouri territory and focusing heavily on limiting opportunities for the trailing Tigers. Missouri struggled against the conservative Maverick approach early in the second half, but the Tigers regained some ground with an equalizing goal from sophomore midfielder Elena Zuchowski in the 71st minute.
From then on, the Tigers bombarded Omaha. Omaha’s exhausted defense desperately tried to keep the game tied, but Mavericks sophomore goalkeeper Emma Konsmo kept the game level with a handful of excellent saves. Despite the late onslaught from the Tigers, the final whistle blew with the game still tied at two.
Missouri will look to continue their hot start when they travel to Nebraska on Thursday to take on the Cornhuskers at 7:05 p.m. CDT. Omaha will head back home to host Wyoming at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
