Mizzou Soccer (1-1) couldn’t beat Goliath on Sunday night, losing 2-0 to the No. 10 Memphis Tigers (2-0) on home soil at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. Memphis did all the damage in the second half, scoring two goals and outscoring Mizzou 5-3 in the final 45 minutes.

After an uneventful first half, Memphis was able to tie the game early with a one-two and finally put the ball in the net. Momo Nakao played a pass through the defense and Ai Kitagawa was all alone and had enough time to lob the ball over goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach.

“I think the goals we conceded were due to attention to detail,” said head coach Stefanie Golan after the game. “We jumped in and were out-dribbled.”

Mizzou came back on track in the final 15 minutes of the game with three great shots on goal. The first came on a set play when Milena Fischer fired the ball over the heads of defenders to Mia Yang, but her header attempt went over the net, preventing the Tigers from scoring.

The second chance came from Leah Selm just outside the box, whose shot sailed maybe six inches over the net. Selm tried another header in the final five minutes, which went just wide of the net.

“We started playing a few passes to open up the situation, they moved forward confidently,” said Golan.

Memphis then scored the equivalent of a garbage time goal when they overcame Mizzou’s pressure and Maddie Eskin sank the goal with 13 seconds left.

Creating chances was a problem for Mizzou all game, with only six shots on goal and no corner kicks. Much of the offense was limited to 50/50 headers in the box, a battle that Memphis usually won.

The best chance for one of those headers came in the first five minutes when Fischer fired a free kick toward the box, where Kylee Simmons fired the ball toward goal. The shot was close when Memphis goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman’s outstretched hand caught the ball and tied the game.

The rest of the half was slow, with no more shots on goal in the final 40 minutes. Memphis had a slight advantage in possession, leading to a 2-0 first-half lead in corner kicks. It made only a minimal difference, however, as Mizzou and Hollenbach’s defenders fended off all comers. Despite the loss, Hollenbach put up another good performance, making two crucial saves in the second half to keep the home team at bay.

This was the first time the Tigers did not concede a goal in a regular season home game since a 1-0 loss to No. 7 Arkansas on Sept. 29 of last season.

The Tigers will play their first road game of the season on Thursday, August 22nd at 7 p.m. when they face Illinois in the Braggin’ Rights clash.