Tigers evade Kansas loss once again, undefeated against rivals since 2016.
Missouri visited the University of Kansas Sunday in the 25th meeting alltime between the rival schools, tying with their hosts 2-2. The Tigers are now 2-2-1 on the season, while the Jayhawks are 3-1-2. Missouri has won or tied with Kansas in four straight contests, their last loss coming in 2016.
The Tigers sent numbers into Jayhawk territory early, applying pressure onto the backline and clogging up passing lanes. The scrappy play quickly rewarded Missouri, in the 9th minute the Tigers crowded the penalty box leading to an own-goal ricocheted off of Kansas senior goalkeeper Melania Pasar. The Slovenian keeper came into the game carrying two consecutive clean-sheets.
The pressure from Missouri made it very difficult for Kansas to facilitate their offense in the beginning of the half, as the midfield was congested and most passes missed their mark.
“We knew they would pressure us, we just didn’t know how to deal with it for the first 15 minutes,” Kansas coach Mark Francis said to ESPN.
The Jayhawks found more success toward the end of the half, but none of their drives ended in the back of the net. The early offensive struggles resulted in Kansas being out-shot by Missouri 8-3 in the first half.
Kansas maintained more frequent possession to start the second half, but still struggled to make anything out of that time. That changed in the 71st minute, when Kansas senior midfielder Kate Dreyer headed a perfect corner in for the equalizer. It was Dryer’s first goal of the season, with senior back Moira Kelley getting the assist.
However, Missouri didn’t let the game stay level for long. The Tigers struck back with a strong drive ending in a strike into the top of the net from sophomore forward Jessica Larson in the 75th minute, putting them ahead 2-1.
Despite being visibly exhausted, the Jayhawks managed to put together one last rally into Tiger territory – converting on junior forward Hallie Klanke’s shot in the 86th minute. The goal would be the last action of the night, and the game remained knotted up at 2.
Missouri will host the University of Illinois in their next contest this Thursday at 6 p.m. CT.
Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com