Missouri soccer showcased its most dominant performance of the 2026 season, flying past Northern Illinois in a 4-0 rout on Thursday, August 27 in Columbia. Junior midfielder Landis Canada led the way with her first collegiate brace, while Missouri’s freshmen class continued to impress across the board.
The Tigers took the lead after 22 minutes of play, when junior midfielder Landis Canada drove the ball into the back of the net from point-blank range. The ball bounced around the box in the resulting calamity from a corner kick, and Canada finished it comfortably — finding her first goal of the season.
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Freshman Lana Adams doubled the Tigers’ lead in the 66th minute. She found her first collegiate goal by dancing around several Huskies defenders before rocketing the ball into the back of the net from 20 yards out. This broke the seal for the Tigers and allowed them to find their rhythm in front of the goal.
Missouri forward Lana Adams winds up to score her first career goal in the 67th minute of a 4-0 win over Northern Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo. | Dan Murphy / Rock M
“It’s mentality and execution,” head coach Stefanie Golan said post-match. “I think that the women had the right mentality and they executed, and you know that’s really what those opportunities come down to.”
They continued this momentum when, just moments later, Canada found her second goal of the affair, knocking in a header from a corner kick in the 67th minute. The single-game brace matches her total goals in her collegiate career thus far.
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Petra Bandula, another Class of 203o Tiger, found Mizzou’s final goal in the 74th minute. Bandula knocked in another header, this time off a cross from Landry Hopkins.
Missouri midfielder Petra Bandula, (#7) celebrates with teammate Landry Hopkins (#5) after scoring her first career goal in a 4-0 win over Northern Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Walton Stadium in Columbia, Mo. | Dan Murphy / Rock M
The stretch of goals came in such quick succession following a long period of offensive pressure for the Tigers, which finally built up to the point where the floodgates opened, and they jumped to a dominant lead.
“I think it was just momentum,” Canada said. “Every single person mattered today, and I think that once one person got one, it was easier to get the second one.”
It was a high-octane affair from the first minute, with both teams trading attempts on goal. The Tigers found most of their success by utilizing their pace on the wings — notably through freshman Lana Adams, who made her first official start in the black and gold.
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In addition to Adams and Bandula, freshmen Riley Morse — who finished with an assist — Aisling Meehan, and Audrey Gilbert all made appearances and continued to impress for the Tigers, each earning serious minutes in the game.
“They have a lot of potential,” Golan said. “We were able to play a lot of players some minutes and see what we have to work with… I thought a lot of players did a nice job tonight.”
The first half painted a familiar picture for Mizzou. It was a mixture of lively offensive pressure with inconsistent finishing in the final third. The Tigers’ efforts earned them an 8-2 shot advantage and four corners; only half of them were on target, however, and a fragile one-goal lead was all that separated them from the Huskies.
Coming out of the half, the Tigers settled in. Northern Illinois struggled to get possession and rarely found themselves with opportunities in their offensive third. Mizzou held onto the ball and continued to make attacking moves while still struggling to find the final touch.
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“I honestly think that it came down to the mentality. You know, we said it’s 1-0, but this game is far from over. We’ve got to put our foot on the gas, really drive forward and make a statement,” Golan said. ” We have something to prove, and I think our women came out; they were hungry in the second half and put a few more in the back than that.”
The Tigers saw out the game, now moving to 2-2-1 on the season. Missouri goes back on the road Sunday to take on Creighton before returning home to round out their nonconference schedule at home against Southeast Missouri on Sept. 4.
