Missouri Holds Off Husker Comeback Bid

San Antonio, Texas ? The Missouri soccer team made history Friday night, as they became the first No. 8 seed in Big 12 history to make it to the championship game in the conference tournament with a 3-2 win over Nebraska at the Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.

Missouri took a 3-0 lead with 33 minutes remaining in the contest, and the Huskers made a strong come-from-behind effort, but it was just short as the minutes ticked down and NU ran out of opportunities. The loss drops Nebraska to 12-7-1 and improves Missouri to 11-9-1 on the year.

"We got off to a poor start," Head Coach John Walker said. "We talked about this before the game, Missouri had nothing to lose, and we made some really poor mistakes early. They had a lot of energy, and we didn’t match it in the first half."

Melissa Peabody put the Tigers on the scoreboard first just eight minutes into the game. NU goalkeeper Brooke Bredenberg got out of the net to pick up the ball and mishandled it when Peabody picked it up and moved around Bredenberg to knock the ball into the net to go up 1-0.

Peabody struck again for Missouri at the 22:53 mark inside the six-yard box on an assist by Jennifer Nobis.

The Tigers controlled the first half of action, getting the ball in the openings and giving the Nebraska defense problems. The Huskers picked it back up with about 15 minutes remaining in the half, but couldn’t actually get the ball into the net.

Missouri outshot the Huskers 12-5 in the first period. The Huskers posted three saves in the first half, while the Tigers never had to register a save.

The Huskers got closer to scoring as Jenna Cooper sent a blistering shot in from about 30 yards out but it went directly into the hands of Duncan just a few minutes into the second half. Nikki Baker got off another shot a few minutes later that just skimmed over the top of the goal.

The Tigers made another run, extending the lead to 3-0 on a goal by Kristen Heil on assists from Adriene Davis and Peabody at the 56:45 mark.

The Huskers finally got on the board at the 58:11 mark on a corner kick by Jenna Cooper that freshman Ashley Tenn found in the box and headed into the net to close the gap to 3-1. With the assist Cooper took over seventh place on the NU career assist charts with 23, surpassing Becky Hogan and Isabelle Morneau.

Just moments later the Huskers almost registered their second goal when Cooper took another corner kick and NU got off two different shots, one by Aly Scace that was blocked and another by Vern Fitzgerald that a Tiger defended on the goal line.

The Huskers did narrow the margin to 3-2 on another corner kick by Cooper that found freshman Jessie Bruch in the box. Bruch headed the ball perfectly into the net right over Duncan’s head for the score with 17 minutes remaining.

"In the second half, you couldn’t ask for more from our team, but we were down two goals," Walker said. "We still fought back, but we didn’t show the maturity we needed in the beginning. We made a great effort in the second half, but you have to give credit to Missouri. They are a very talented and dangerous team."

Nebraska continued to pressure the remaining 17 minutes, but time ran out for the Huskers, as they took their first loss in school history to the Missouri Tigers. The Huskers outshot the Tigers, 19-16, for the game, but MU managed a 7-5 shot on goal advantage.

Duncan recorded two saves on the night and allowed two goals, while Bredenberg registered three saves and allowed as many goals.

The Huskers will await word on the NCAA Tournament field which will be announced at 3 p.m. Monday on ESPN News.