Freshman Savannah Trujillo lofted a corner in the 74th minute Thursday against Arkansas. Sophomore Lauren Selaiden found herself running away from the ball as it deflected to her. She then used the side of her right foot to flick the ball backwards as she faced away from the goal.
The one-timed ball bounced toward the net and somehow trickled a few inches over the goal line, giving Missouri a 2-1 lead.
“I just kind of threw my foot at it hoping it would go back post or go towards the net in any way,” Selaiden said. “Honestly I kind of turned because I thought she caught it at first and then I saw her drop it and it ended up going in.”
The 2-1 score would hold, giving the Tigers a win Thursday night at Audrey J. Walton Stadium to conclude Missouri’s regular season.
The win sets the Tigers’ regular season record at 11-5-3 overall and 6-4-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The Razorbacks fell to 8-6-1 and 4-4-3.
The victory comes after a disappointing 3-0 Missouri loss to Tennessee.
“After Sunday’s performance, I feel like all of us thought that wasn’t the real Missouri and I think we wanted the chance to show ourselves and everybody else that given the opportunity we’re going to be different than what we were and more like who we are,” Missouri coach Bryan Blitz said.
The Tigers had a rare first-half goal in the 28th minute.
Senior Taylor Grant electrified the crowd when senior Kaysie Clark found Clark 10 yards outside of the top of the box. Grant then unleashed a shot into the upper right corner of the net for her team-leading seventh goal of the season, and her first score since Sept. 14.
Clark said it was cool to see her teammate “get that monkey off of her back.”
“I thought I kicked the ground, so I didn’t think it would be that good of a shot,” Grant said. “I guess I actually did hit the ball, and when it actually went in, I was kind of in shock.”
The Razorbacks equalized the game in the 55th minute. Arkansas’ Alexandra Fischer sent a one-timer off the crossbar into the corner of the net.
But when the whistle blew, Selaiden’s goal was both her second tally and her second game-winner of the year. Trujillo’s assist was the fourth of her freshman season.
The Tigers had outshot the Razorbacks 17-13 and had a slight 5-3 edge in shots on goal.
With the win, Missouri finished fourth SEC regular season standings, receiving a first-round bye in next week’s 2014 SEC Tournament. Mizzou will face five-seed No. 20 South Carolina Wednesday, Nov. 5
Blitz described the Gamecocks as an organized team that doesn’t beat itself.
“We know what they’re about,” Blitz said. “We beat them. We know them well. They know us well. It will be a grind like any game in the SEC. We know going in like any other game that we’ll have to earn it.”