The Mississippi State (5-4) soccer team finished its non-conference schedule over the weekend, splitting games against Memphis (4-2) and Southern Mississippi (4-3-1). The Bulldogs finished preparations for the SEC schedule with their best pre-conference record since 2004, the last season the Bulldogs qualified for the SEC tournament and MSU coach Neil Macdonald’s first season.
Friday night, the Bulldogs lost 2-1 in a tough match to 2007 NCAA tournament participant Memphis. A late afternoon thunderstorm soaked the MSU soccer field and destroyed both sides’ short passing game.
“You can’t play soccer in these conditions with puddles all over the field,” MSU defender Bethany Frazier said.
Following a 40-minute rain delay, two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match gave Memphis all the offense that the Tigers would need to defeat the Bulldogs. After the Tigers’ two early goals, they switched to a completely defensive approach.
Though MSU outshot Memphis 16-8 after the second Tiger goal, the Tiger defense preserved the slim lead.
Frazier netted a consolation point for the Bulldogs late in the second half. She leads the Bulldogs in shots this season, but Friday’s strike was her first goal of the season.
“We felt really good against Memphis. They are a really good team. They are very well-respected,” Frazier said. “We were down 2-0 at the half so we switched formations and decided to go for it,” Frazier said of the MSU gameplan after getting two goals down.
The Bulldogs played the second half with one more striker than in the first half.
Sunday the Bulldogs defeated in-state foe Southern Mississippi 2-1. Similar to the Memphis match two nights before, the Bulldogs conceded an early goal and fought back to eventually control the match. Southern Mississippi striker Sarah Macfadden ruled the field, scoring USM’s only goal and getting more shots on goal than the entire MSU team. USM was caught in transition following a missed Macfadden shot and MSU striker Kateyln Graben found Tarah Henderson, setting up the equalizing shot from the aggressive freshman striker.
The game winning goal came from junior Heather Buttrey. The forward tapped a cross from center defender Meredith Jacobson into the net.
“The game was played really tightly. The game was not pretty,” Macdonald said. “We always knew it was going to be a real battle against Southern. This was a game where you have to roll up your sleeves and work hard. This is a tough place to come.”
USM came into the match Sunday the more rested side, having not played since their 1-0 win over Mississippi Valley State Sept. 14. The Golden Eagles finished the match with a 21-12 edge in shooting over the Bulldogs. Despite the statistical discrepancy, Macdonald was again pleased with the defense. “I think to be fair, only six or seven were on target. [MSU goalkeeper Taryn Holland] made six saves but most were straight to her,” Macdonald said.
“Basically Meredith just got on the other end and all I had to do was get on the back side and tap it in,” Buttrey said of her goal.
Buttrey normally plays midfielder but got her first goal of the season, the game winner, as a forward.
“It felt good that it was important,” she said.
Both games continued a problem the Bulldogs have faced all season, not playing strong from the beginning. “Sometimes we start off shaky,” Buttrey said. “We really wanted to win this game. We were the better team. We have composure in the back.”
Now the Bulldogs turn their attention to next weekend’s clash against Arkansas and 2007 SEC West champion LSU.