The Mississippi State soccer team (5-6, 0-2 SEC) began SEC play over the weekend with a pair of losses to then-undefeated LSU (7-1, 1-1 SEC) and Arkansas (9-1, 2-0 SEC). This marked the first time since 2000 MSU has lost two games at home in an opening SEC weekend.
The Bulldogs got going early Friday night when midfielder Mariclaire Fancher gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead over Louisiana State. It was the first goal MSU has scored against LSU since 2004. However a dead ball goal right before halftime and a strong second-half performance from the defending SEC Western Division champions propelled the Tigers to a 4-1 victory.
“I think the first 45 minutes we played very well,” MSU coach Neil Macdonald said Friday night. “We defended very well. We transitioned to attack very well.”
The transition has been a weak point for State in the pre-conference season but MSU saw substantial improvement in that area.
“The first 45 was great. Obviously the second half was quite a different story,” Macdonald said. “We lost our positional discipline a little in the second half; and against the No. 9 team in the nation they punish you for that.”
LSU entered SEC play ranked in the top 10 for the first time in program history.
After halftime the LSU attack was more urgent and the Tigers’ talent overwhelmed the State defense.
“Instead of trying to pass the ball they became a lot more direct and started running at us, creating a lot of one-on-ones, and we lost our way a little bit,” Macdonald said.
By the end of the second half, State had fallen back and focused more on not conceding than staging a comeback.
“When we have played top teams, we have always come out hard, but you have to play 90 minutes. You cant just play 45 minutes, or 44 minutes, actually,” Fancher said, referencing LSU’s goal with less than 30 seconds left in the first half that deflated the home team.
Goalkeeper Taryn Holland was dejected following the defeat.
“When we pass the ball to feet, when we move the ball well we are an incredible team, a team that cant be beat. It’s just having our head in the game for 90 minutes,” Holland said.
Sunday the Bulldogs met an Arkansas defense that went the entire month of September without giving up a goal, and against State it was no different. Following Arkansas’ first goal only 15 minutes into the first half, State became increasingly offensive. When the final whistle blew, nine State players were in the attacking third of the field.
Over the weekend, State altered its defensive line up for the first time this season, moving athletic defenders Hannah Tyler and Bethany Frazier to midfield.
“We were just passing the ball around them today. They weren’t even getting touches on the ball. If we can do that for 90 minutes and finish on goal, we should do really well this season,” Frazier said of her team. “We are getting better, we just have to start finishing.”
An unlucky bounce gifted Arkansas the game winner when Holland parried an attempt from Arkansas’ leading goal scorer Kelly O’Connor and it fell to Arkansas striker Beth McVean. Holland finished the game with seven saves.
Following LSU’s upset loss to Ole Miss, Arkansas currently leads the SEC West as the only undefeated team in the division.
The Bulldogs take a tour of Alabama next weekend, playing at Auburn Friday at 7 p.m. and at Alabama Sunday at 2 p.m.