85th Minute Dagger steals Border War win from Mizzou Soccer

After securing a 2-1 win in the Border War last season at home, the Missouri Tigers were hungry for another win in enemy territory this season, after suffering a brutal 5-0 defeat at the hands of rivals Nebraska in their game prior. To get out the dirty taste of rivalry defeat, the Tigers hoped to get a victory in Lawrence on Sunday.

The game started off just the way the Tigers had hoped, as Leah Selm chipped an errant ball of a free kick towards the net, which proceeded to bounce off the post, then off the kU goalkeeper and into the net, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the game.

An interesting part of this game was the fact that it was goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach’s first start of the season, despite earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshmen team last season. After returning from injury, Hollenbach did not immediately getting the job back, with freshman Kate Phillips instead earning the nod in the first couple games.

The first half wasn’t filled with much action barring a few wayward shots and Selm’s goal. Jessica Larson had a great look at the net but the shot was parried away by the kU goalkeeper.

After the end of the half, the shot totals standed at 8-3 in favor of the Tigers, with Head Coach Stefanie Golan’s team feeling as if they were in control of the game.

Kylee Simmons had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 to begin the second half, but her header went just above the crossbar keeping the jayhawks within striking distance.

The Tigers’ worst fears came to life in the 70th minute, as a corner for kansas found its way into the back of the Missouri net, on the jayhawks’ first shot on target the entire game.

Just four minutes later, Jessica Larson made up for her missed chance in the first half and netted home her first career goal, on a nice run up the middle, reclaiming the lead for the Tigers.

Larson’s goal seemed to be the goal that would put kU away, but a stunning 85th minute-tying goal sent the Tigers to their knees in despair as it all but sealed a draw.

Despite an aggressive push for a win to end the game, the Tigers ended this one with a 2-2 draw against their arch rivals, despite outshooting the jayhawks 16-5.

kU had just two shots on goal, both of which went in last night, making it a less than ideal first showing for Hollenbach in her first game back between the sticks.

The game marked the first tie between the two sides since 2008, when the Tigers and jayhawks tied 1-1.

Missouri is now 13-10-2 all-time against kansas, and have moved to 2-1-2 on the season.

UP NEXT: The Tigers play their final home game of the non-conference slate against rivals Illinois on September 7th, at 6 PM CST.