Razorbacks stay unbeaten with late goal from Malham to beat Mizzou

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas remained unbeaten at home Thursday night, beating Missouri, 1-0, on the back of a strong defensive stand and a 59th-minute goal from sophomore Taylor Malham.

It’s the third-straight conference win for Arkansas and second-straight shutout.

Arkansas is unbeaten through the last four matches dating back to a 1-1 draw with Providence on Sept. 16 and ups its home record to 6-0-1.

Overall, the Razorbacks are now 8-2-2 and 3-1-0 in the SEC. The Tigers fall to 4-6-2 overall and 1-2-1 in league play.

Malham, who had been held goalless over the previous seven matches, came up big early in the second half when she received a key pass from freshman Emily Russell at the far post back into the middle of the box.

Stefani Doyle was also key on the play as she helped set the offense from the right side with her cross after beating the defender to the end line.

Malham now has two goals on the year and 10 points. She joins junior Kayla McKeon as the only two Razorbacks with 10 or more points through the first 12 matches.

For Malham, six of her 10 points have come off assists.

Throughout the match, Arkansas endured a tenacious attack from Missouri. Combined, both teams managed only five shots with two coming on goal.

However, the Razorbacks turned up the heat in the second half, creating 14 shots with three finding the target.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Beitz, making her second-consecutive start in the net, had three saves in the game and improved to 3-0-0.

It was Arkansas’ third shutout of the year and second-straight. Beitz has been in goal for both of the previous two clean sheets.

Sound Byte
“That was obviously a huge point of emphasis, we were giving up some goals and we worked on that. At halftime, we said, ‘there are just games that you don’t have you’re A-game and you’re not sure why and your legs are little heavy, but we have to gut out a 1-0 win.’ I thought they did a tremendous job with that.” — Colby Hale on the overall play throughout the game

“It wasn’t quite us. You could tell we didn’t have our legs. Up front we were losing the physical battle and we weren’t as dynamic as we’ve been. There are days that that happens. We just have to gut out a 1-0 win and the second half we created a ton more chances and could have scored a few more goals, but we were a lot better.” — Hale on playing a tough game

“I think our team handles these games pretty well. We knew going into the second half we needed to pick up our game and put more pressure on them. I think we really improved that going into it and obviously we got a goal and we just needed to keep it up.” — Sophomore Taylor Malham on gutting out a 1-0 win

“I think all the credit goes to the backs. They make my job a lot easier. The team in front is making it easier for me to get shutouts. We had 14 shots in the second half which is a big change from the first half and that makes it a lot easier as well. It’s a big confidence booster going into the home stretch of SEC matches.” — Redshirt sophomore Taylor Beitz on back-to-back shutout wins

Other Key Notes

• Arkansas remained unbeaten at home this season with the 1-0 victory over Missouri. With a 6-0-1 record at Razorback Field, Arkansas is one of five teams in the SEC with an undefeated record at home in 2018.

• Sophomore Taylor Malham scored her second goal of the year and secured two more points to up her season total to 10. She joins Kayla McKeon as the only Razorbacks with 10 or more points this season.

• For the second-straight match, the Arkansas defense kept its opponent off the scoreboard, recording its third shutout of the year and second-straight in SEC play. Taylor Beitz has been in goal for both of the previous two shutouts.

• Thursday’s match was Arkansas’ sixth one-goal game of the year and third straight. Arkansas is now 5-1 on the year in one-goal games.

• For the third-straight appearance, Taylor Beitz tied her career high with three saves made against Missouri. In 283 minutes, Beitz has made 11 saves and only allowed two goals.

• The Razorbacks are now 6-3-0 against the Tigers all-time and have won five of the last six dating back to 2012.

Up Next

The Razorbacks have the rest of the weekend off and will return to the field on Oct. 4 when they take on LSU at 6:30 p.m. That match will be televised online on SEC Network+.