Missouri soccer tied No. 13  South Carolina 1-1 on Sunday, breaking their four-game losing streak. Missouri’s record improves to 5-5-3 on the season and 1-4-1 in conference play, while South Carolina’s record drops to 9-1-4 and 3-0-3. 

Missouri’s offense came out of the gates hot with multiple strong attacks, racking up an extensive amount of time on South Carolina’s  half of the field. Despite the onslaught from the Tigers, the Gamecocks were able to get in their fair share of shots as well. In the first half, Missouri took 4 shots, while South Carolina took 3 themselves.  

Even after keeping the Gamecocks at bay , Missouri couldn’t hold off South Carolina for the whole game. The Gamecocks usually-strong offense finally found their footing  in the second half. A diving stop from Missouri redshirt sophomore Bella Hollenbach sent the ball to the middle of the goal box and failed to clear it.With a wide open net, South Carolina senior forward Corinna Zullo tapped the ball into the center of the goal while Hollenbach was still down to give the road team the lead in the 63rd minute.  

However, it didn’t take long for Missouri to answer, and the player who saved the day wasn’t a usual suspect. Sophomore defender Scarlett Thomas, who hadn’t seen the field much prior to Sunday, played a pivotal role in preventing Missouri’s losing streak from reaching five. A high, unassisted shot into the top left corner from Thomas tied the game in the 77th minute and gave Thomas her first career goal in her first career start. Thomas saw her first career action in the previous game against Ole Miss after starting senior defender Rachel Kutella received a one game suspension from a red card in the matchup against the Rebels. 

The Tigers’ defense regained its edge after the last couple games and were able to keep South Carolina’s offense in check for the entire first half, limiting them to just three shots. This game marks the first game the Tigers have not allowed a goal in the first half since they played Missouri State in St. Louis on Sept. 10. However, Missouri’s defense seemed to not be able to stop South Carolina in the second half as they got off nine more shots. 

Missouri maintained possession of the ball for the better part of the game. The offense took a more aggressive strategy coming in and were dependent on their long solo runs, many ending in a shot. Thomas’ was the only drive that found the back of the net. 

Missouri heads to Nashville, Tenn. to face Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 13. South Carolina heads back home to face Ole Miss on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. EST.