SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's soccer battled toe-to-toe with SEC opponent Missouri on Sunday, but two late Tiger goals proved to be the difference as the Bears fell 2-0 in front of their home crowd at Allison South Stadium.
The breakthrough came in the 81st minute when Missouri's Olivia Chianelli converted the first goal of the match, before her teammate Ava Vetter struck again just four minutes later to put the contest out of reach. Despite the scoreline, the Bears showed fight until the final whistle, creating multiple chances and coming up with clutch defensive plays to stay in the match.
Missouri State's defense stood tall under pressure throughout the match. In the first half, sophomore Kendall Petoskey shut down several MU attempts to attack from the wing, preventing the Tigers from finding a rhythm. In the second half, Maddie Schneiderhahn and Riley Smith delivered clutch slide tackles in front of the goal, each stealing the ball away from Missouri to keep the score level.
On the offensive side, the Bears raised their intensity after the scoreless first half, pressing high and putting the Tigers' back line under pressure. Missouri State created multiple scoring opportunities in the second period, firing off four shot opportunities after halftime, but couldn't quite find the finishing touch.
"I'm disappointed in our loss today. It was a great matchup for us and we played hard for the first 80 minutes to keep the shutout, but just couldn't hold on until the end," said head coach Kirk Nelson. "I'm proud of the team going strong against an SEC opponent. We are growing every game as we move towards conference. On to the next one."
Up next, Missouri State travels to Saint Louis on Thursday, Sept. 4, to face the Billikens at 6:00 p.m. The Bears are home again on Sunday, Sept. 7 as they host Iowa in the much anticipated match of the year for the Bears.
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