Mississippi State University soccer beat the Louisiana State University Tigers by a score of 3-2 in a nail-biter Sunday night.
The game also saw a record 1,483 fans in attendance at the MSU Soccer Field – the highest for the Bulldogs soccer team since 2018.
In the first ten minutes of the game, the Bulldogs and Tigers went back and forth. Gwen Mummert put the Bulldogs on the board with a goal assisted by Haley McWhirter. However, LSU’s Alesia Garcia scored a goal to tie the game early in the first half.
LSU’s goal in the first half snapped Bulldog goalkeeper Maddy Anderson’s eight game shutout streak. Anderson currently holds the program record for most career-shutouts with a total of 14.
Bulldog freshman Maggie Wadsworth scored a goal shortly after, but the Tigers, once again, responded with their own goal to tie the game up 2-2.
The second half was all defense on both sides, but McWhirter was fouled in the box, which would end up costing LSU, as she would score the eventual game-winning goal on a penalty kick.
After the win against the Tigers, Anderson said the Bulldogs had some struggles in the first half but eventually cleaned up their mistakes.
“We were struggling a little bit in the first half, just trying to stay connected, staying in touch, staying tight in the box,” Anderson said. “In the second half, we definitely cleaned it up. We knew what to do. We just had to be locked down on defense, and our offense did an amazing job scoring goals for us.”
Bulldog head coach James Armstrong spoke to the media after the game about the big win at home against the Tigers.
“It was an unbelievable win for the program,” Armstrong said, “to go the first three games against three quality opponents, and to have nine points after that in SEC play? We couldn’t be prouder.”
With the win, the Bulldogs advance to a 9-0-2 record this season, including 3-0 in SEC play. Next up, the Bulldogs travel to play the University of Missouri Tigers Thursday at 7 p.m. They return to Starkville on Oct. 6 to play against the No. 8 ranked University of South Carolina Gamecocks.