Missouri (4-4-1) concluded its three game home stand with a 2-1 win over Portland State (2-5-0) in the two programs’ first meeting ever. Sunday afternoon’s game was the first game of the current winning streak where none of the goals were acquired via penalty kick.
Missouri’s offense had a few good looks at goal right out of the gate, starting with a shot by junior Sarah Luebbert just under a minute into the game. Luebbert found the net unassisted in the 20th minute for the first goal of the game and her first goal of the season. It was also the first time the Tigers have scored within the first half this season.
Defensively, Missouri managed to hold Portland State off for most of the first half, despite junior Anna Frick sitting out her second game of the season. The Vikings had registered zero shots and zero corner kicks until sophomore Mya Lopez nailed one from approximately 40 yards out that sailed right over the hands of Tiger goalkeeper Kelsey Dossey to tie up the game during the final minute of the half.
“I was ball-watching a little bit,” Dossey admitted after the game. “It was a beautiful shot.”
Although coach Bryan Blitz was impressed with how Missouri came out at the start of the game, at halftime he was commending Portland State for their energy.
“We got too cool for school, and that’s not us,” Blitz said of the Tigers’ play after their initial goal.
Luckily for the Tigers, there was more game to play.
Luebbert netted another one unassisted in the 60th minute to the top left corner, giving the Tigers the lead again. Missouri held that 2-1 lead until the end of the game.
“As a forward you always want to score, I just went out and worked hard and pressed and tried to control what I could control,” Luebbert said after the win. “The first [goal] I was able to turn and take on the backline, they were dropping in so I took my space and went for it.”
This was Luebbert’s third two-goal game of her career, the first being against Vanderbilt on Oct. 14, 2016 and the second against Tennessee Oct. 8, 2017.
Missouri finished the game with 20 shots, 8 corners and 8 fouls. Besides Luebbert, the Tigers were led by freshman Julissa Cisneros and sophomore Bella Alessi, who each had two of three shots on goal.
Even defender Peyton Joseph looked for the net, recording two shots, one of which came from a drive all the way from midfield to the 6-yard spot before concluding with the ball rolling just wide of the right post.
The Tigers head back on the road this week, traveling to Athens, Georgia on Thursday to take on the Bulldogs (4-3-2) in their second SEC matchup of the season.
“They’re a good team like every team in the SEC,” coach Blitz commented after the game. “We have to sharpen up a little bit on our finishing and just our overall organization. Nothing’s easy in the SEC.”
_Edited by Bennett Durando︱bdurando@themaneater.com_