Missouri soccer draws with A&M, settles for second place in SEC

Midway through the second overtime session, Missouri senior defender Candace Johnson had a golden chance to deliver a golden goal and a share of the SEC championship on Thursday at Walton Stadium in Columbia.

Junior Rachel Hignett was taken down in the Texas A&M penalty box in the 104th minute, earning a penalty kick with 6 minutes and 3 seconds remaining.

Johnson, who entered the game as the Tigers’ points leader, stepped to the spot against Aggies junior goalkeeper Danielle Rice, who entered in the 69th minute for injured starter Mia Hummel.

With a dive to her right, Rice stonewalled Johnson’s try, keeping the game level at 1-1 and denying Missouri its first conference championship since 2009.

As a result, Florida, which finished 8-2-1 in conference, won the title outright on the strength of a 3-0 win earlier Thursday at Georgia.

The Tigers, 9-4-5 overall and 7-2-2 in conference, finished a respectable second — still the best SEC result in program history — and will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament next week in Orange Beach, Ala.

The real dagger to Missouri’s conference championship hopes actually came in the 52nd minute.

A&M sophomore midfielder Mikaela Harvey controlled the ball a few paces into MU territory and split two defenders on a direct run.

As a third Tiger closed in, Harvey laid off a diagonal ball to her left, where Aggies freshman forward Ally Watt won a foot race with junior defender Jasmine Johnson to the ball and found the net with a one-time strike.

Missouri, which was gunning for its first conference championship since claiming the Big 12 title six years ago, answered quickly.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Clark, a Liberty graduate, turned around A&M freshman Emily Bates with some nifty skill work, gaining enough space to drive a left-footed cross toward the near post.

Senior Reagan Russell built up a head of steam and beat Hummel to the ball, heading home the equalizer in the 63rd minute.

The Aggies’ goalkeepers were clutch throughout the night, combining for 10 saves as the Tigers never managed a lead in the game.

Clark had nearly delivered the equalizer a few minutes before Russell’s strike, but Hummel temporarily kept the Tigers off the scoreboard with a double-save.

Hummel dove to her left to parry away Clark’s bending shot toward the far post.

Sophomore forward Allie Hess rushed in for rebound, but she couldn’t elevate the ball over Hummel, who was still on the ground.

Clark again nearly delivered an overtime win with a roller from just outside the box 11 seconds into the second extra period, but Rice swallowed up the shot.

Johnson almost broke through too, heading a Clark corner kick off the left post a minute before her fateful penalty-kick miss.

Normally, a draw with A&M, which has made the NCAA Tournament 20 consecutive seasons and reached at least the Sweet Sixteen 12 times since 1999, would be a fine result.

It just wasn’t what Missouri — which outshot A&M 21-8, including an 11-3 edge in shots on goal — needed on this particular night.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Missouri soccer draws with A&M, settles for second place in SEC."