Missouri soccer hosted No. 13 Ole Miss at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium on a Columbia night yesterday. Missouri looked to repeat their efforts of last year’s Pink Game to support breast cancer awareness, where the Tigers upset then-No. 13 Vanderbilt.
In the third minute of the match, Missouri got an early opportunity with a corner kick. Senior midfielder Blythe Beldner crossed the ball into a jumble of players in the box and, after a kick out from a Rebel defender, redshirt sophomore defender Megan Oduyoye collected the ball and delivered a strike into the top right corner of the net, putting the Tigers up 1-0 early.
“I was ready,” Oduyoye said. “I leaned over and just hoped it would go in.”
Missouri spent much of the first half on the attack, applying pressure to the Ole Miss defense by utilizing the counterattack and breaking away in transition.
One of these scoring opportunities was in the 15th minute, when the Tigers earned a corner. Graduate defender Momola Adesanmi rifled another shot low and past the feet of multiple Rebel defenders. But the ball ended up missing just left outside of the post and senior goalkeeper Ashley Okrus.
Ole Miss struggled against a Tiger attack that normally generates few goal scoring opportunities. The Tigers out shot the Rebels 3-2 in the first half.
“They’re a team who relies on being very direct and making it about service,” Missouri head coach Stefanie Golan said. “We thought if we could compete there and then connect forward and get them on the counter, we’d be in a good spot.”
Missouri followed up their dominant first half with another goal in the 49th minute. Senior forward Julissa Cisneros made a run down the right wing before she stopped in her tracks and played the ball to her right foot. She then set up and delivered a beautiful cross over multiple Ole Miss defenders to the head of graduate midfielder Cassidy Nurnberger, who finished the play for a Tiger goal.
Nurnberger, who delivered the game-winning goal in last year’s Pink Game against the No. 13 team in the country at the time, was pleased with not only her performance, but all of her teammates’ performances as well.
“I was not expecting that to play out just like last year,” Nurnberger said. “I’m thankful and I’m happy. Every day I come out here and play just whatever I can do to help the team, so when I’m able to finish and help the team with the game winner, it’s a great feeling.”
In the 54th minute, Ole Miss senior midfielder Haleigh Stackpole stood over Missouri sophomore defender Grace Pettet, appearing to not let her stand up. Then as Stackpole stepped over Pettet, Missouri junior defender Caroline Lyman ran over and pushed Stackpole to the ground, causing commotion on the field among referees and both teams. Both Lyman and Stackpole received a yellow card.
Once play resumed, Ole Miss senior forward Molly Martin delivered a goal to put the Rebels on the board, which stopped some of the momentum for the Tigers and sparked some life for the Ole Miss team and sideline.
In the last 30 minutes, the Rebels consistently found themselves in Tiger territory with opportunities trying to make a late comeback, but the Missouri backline continued its impressive performance with defenders like Oduyoye and Pettet constantly making plays and clearing the ball out of the box.
Missouri held onto their lead and sent the Rebels packing with a 2-1 upset.
Golan and her squad picked up its biggest win of the season, and it could not have come at a more crucial time. The Tigers, who were in danger of falling out of contention for a trip to the SEC Soccer Championship that starts on Oct. 31, are now in a much better situation than when they began the night.
Missouri came into the game 13th out of 14th teams in the SEC standings, with only three points in conference play. But after tonight’s result, the Tigers now have six points in the conference and are just a point shy of Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Florida, who are tied for the final two spots in the SEC Soccer Championship. The Tigers need to reach the top 10 in the conference in order to qualify for the tournament.
“There’s no easy games in an SEC play at all,” Golan said. “The reason why games are played is because, if the results were what have been on paper all the time, there’d be no point.”
Missouri travels to Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday at 12 p.m. to face a winless Kentucky team who is last in the SEC. With the conference tournament just around the corner, the contest against the Wildcats couldn’t come at a better time.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com
