Missouri soccer is seven games into their season, with the last three contests providing a wide range of results. The Tigers sit at 2-4-1 as they prepare for conference play. 

The team lost a close match to Miami 2-1, when freshman Landis Canada scored her first goal of her career. The Tigers won in a 5-0 blowout against Southeast Missouri State followed by a 7-0 defeat to Duke, one of the top teams in the nation. With that said, let’s dive into what we have learned from this stretch of mid-season matches. 

Missouri’s inability to capitalize on shot opportunities

The Tigers have taken 43 shots with 16 of those on goal in the past three games. Only nine of those made it into the net. This statistic may not look so bad at first glance, but when you realize that five of these goals came against Southeast Missouri State, it is a clear problem. 

In matchups against other opponents, the Tigers have not shown up and converted on their shot attempts. Forward Kylee Simmons was the face of the offense last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting on two. She only has one goal against SEMO to her name this year. 

The Tigers as a whole have nine goals on 90 shots this season and a 38.9% shot on goal percentage, which ranks them 300 in the nation.

Missouri is a team clearly focused on crossing the ball into the box to set up shots. Passing is not the problem, but the execution on headers or having enough players in the box to get second chance opportunities is lacking. Part of the Tigers’ lack of success could be attributed to bad luck, but that is too easy of a cop out. Many proven players like Simmons have yet to find good rhythm offensively, especially when playing high level teams.  

Tigers need better plan of action on corner kicks

Missouri could fix some of their offensive struggles by using corner kicks to generate more scoring. Their approach is passive and easy for the defense to stop. They only send four players into the box routinely and the ball often ends up in the opponent’s possession. It is hard to expect any goals when multiple defenders can mark your players. The Tigers are a very athletic team, but they are not being utilized on corner kicks. 

Missouri holds a large margin lead in corner kicks against their opponents on the season with a 43-29 lead. In their match against Miami, the corners were even in the game five-to-five, with four of the Tiger’s corners coming in the second half. When there is a need for urgency, Head Coach Stefanie Golan changes strategies and sends more into the box, which helped Missouri score their only goal on Miami. 

If they were to employ a more aggressive plan of attack, it may hurt their defense, but the main problem with this team is their lack of firepower on offense. Corner kicks are a helpful tool to set up scoring plays and the Tigers have had many opportunities, but rarely capitalize on them. 

Landis Canada is a future star for Missouri

Loyal Tiger fans knew that Missouri had a star with Simmons, but are looking out for Canada as the season progresses. Canada is a freshman midfielder from Fenton, Michigan and has come on strong for the Tigers. 

Canada has started all seven games alongside upperclassmen Leah Selm and Keegan Good as mentors in the midfield. Canada ranks third on the team in minutes, third in shots and has a .500 shot on goal percentage. Canada has one goal on the season against Miami and one assist against SEMO.

Despite her lone assist, Canada’s best quality may be her ability to create shots for others. She has a beautiful through-ball and has shown her accurate crossing ability this season. The speed of a high level game is the one thing that Canada seems to need adjusting to. After facing teams like Duke and Saint Louis heading into conference play, she should only look more comfortable on the field. 

The Tigers’ loss to Duke signaled the start of conference play as they prepare to take on Texas A&M at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m.

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Claire Bauer and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com