Scoreless 2nd-Half has Mizzou Soccer come up short against No. 22 Georgia 2-1

The Missouri Tigers took on the No. 22 Georgia Bulldogs Sunday at home, looking to bounce back from their first SEC loss of the season in their last bout against Auburn.

The game began with an early breakdown in the Tiger defense which forced Mizzou goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach to take down a Georgia player in the penalty box, giving the Bulldogs a penalty kick just seven minutes into the game.

Nicole Vernis converted from the spot, slotting a ball into the bottom right corner and giving the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead.

After some back-and-forth play, just 11 minutes later the Bulldogs found themselves with a golden opportunity right in front of the net which was saved by Hollenbach, but the rebound found itself on the foot of Summer Denigan who hammered the ball home for Georgia.

Yet again, the Tigers found themselves down 2-0 early, this time at home against a ranked opponent.

At around the 31st minute, Milena Fischer drew a foul in prime scoring position, prompting a free kick. Missouri has had a boatload of their offense this season come from free kicks, and it didn’t stop here as Fischer sent a ball into the box which was headed home by none other than Kylee Simmons, upping her SEC-leading goal tally to nine this season.

At halftime, Georgia held the advantage in shots and shots on goal, leading 5 (4) to 2 (2).

Things started slow in the second half but in the 59th minute, Jessica Larsen shot a ball into the top right of the net that was saved by Georgia’s keeper.

Simmons came close to adding to that goal tally again in the 67th minute with a blistering free-kick that was parried away by the goalkeeper.

After that chance, Georgia’s defense put on a great show of discipline and tackling, as Mizzou failed to get another substantial chance from that point onward, as the Tigers fell to the Bulldogs 2-1. The lack of offensive production from Mizzou has been highly puzzling, as they started the season so hot but this game was their third straight with single-digit shots.

Final Statlines: Both teams had 8 shots while Missouri had a slight edge in shots on goal, leading that mark 7-6. Georgia had 12 fouls to Missouri’s 10, and 3 offsides to Missouri’s 2.

UP NEXT: Missouri takes on the No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks at home on Thursday, September 28th at 6 PM CT