Soccer’s Second Half Comeback Falls Short at Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Missouri soccer team dropped a road contest at Auburn University, 2-3, Thursday, Sept. 21. Mizzou moves to 5-2-2 on the season and 1-1-0 in Southeastern Conference play, while Auburn is now 5-3-2 and earns its first SEC win of the season.

How It Happened

In the battle of the tigers, Auburn struck first, scoring in the 11th minute to go up by one early. Missouri attempted to get the offense threatening, but Auburn pushed its lead to two in the 32nd minute. The first and best look for Mizzou came from sophomore Elena Zuchowski in the 39th minute, but could not get it past the opposition’s keeper.

Missouri came out with more energy in the second half and was immediately on the offensive. Sophomore Kylee Simmons continues to be a force, as she picked up her eighth goal of the season in the 49th minute to make it 2-1. As Mizzou began to dictate the pace of the game, senior Jenna Bartels fed junior Leah Selm for the equalizer in the 60th minute. Just seven minutes later, Auburn scored to take the lead back, 3-2. The Black and Gold could not tie the game to secure a point.

Game Notes 

• Missouri’s program record against Auburn moves to 6-4-1 with the road loss.
• Sophomore Jessica Larson earns her first start of the season and ninth of her career, playing 55 minutes.
• Mizzou registered one shot in the first half and four total shots in the match, both season-lows.  
• Simmons has scored a goal in four consecutive games, starting with the Illinois match on Sept. 7. The goal marks the sophomore’s eighth of the season and 10th of her career.
• Selm picked up the second goal of her career and first of the season. Additionally, the junior recorded her second assist of the season and fourth of her career on the Simmons’ goal.
• Bartels registered her first assist of the season and fifth of her career on the Selm goal.  

Up Next 

Mizzou returns home to Walton Stadium to welcome No. 22-ranked Georgia on Sunday, Sept. 24. The game is set to kickoff at 6:00 p.m. and fans can stream the action live on SEC Network+. 

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