Mississippi State fell to 2-3 in the SEC on Friday as they lost a tough game to SEC East foe Vanderbilt, 4-2. Jessi Moore and Amy Van Zandt hooked up once again as the Bulldogs played well but just fell short at home. Vanderbilt scored three second half goals en route to pushing Mississippi State to the limit. Van Zandt scored her 10th goal of the season on an assist by Moore in the 60th minute to close the gap to 3-2, but Vanderbilt forward Erin Higgins put the game out of reach when she scored from the left post in the 85th minute, sending MSU to its second straight home loss.
Moore also had the assist on the first goal of the game giving her 13 on the year as Brie Wallace put Mississippi State on the board first. Moore is now two assists shy of tying the all-time school record that was set in 1997. It was Wallace’s first goal on the year, giving her three points for the season.
The Commodores outshot the Bulldogs 15-7, including a 10-3 edge in the first half. Mississippi State was limited in shot opportunities as Moore said that they ended up playing to Vanderbilt’s style.
“We needed to put the ball on the ground a little bit more,” Moore said. “We were playing to their strengths a lot, which is playing the ball in the air. If we could settle the ball down, put it to feet, we’ll be a lot more successful.”
Van Zandt added by saying that they played the ball in the air continuously. Amber Meesey, who is a key to the Bulldog defense, said that they just got beat by a good team.
“We gave it all we got, and we competed well,” Meesey said. “When you lose to a team like Vanderbilt, it’s not as hard as if you lose to a team that you shouldn’t lose to,” referring to the defeat to Alabama at home last Sunday.
With the loss, Mississippi State’s record versus SEC East opponents is now 2-19 all-time. MSU scored their first goals against Vanderbilt in the four-game series history as they are 0-4 against the Commodores.
Vanderbilt moved their record to 5-6 and 3-3 in the conference with the win as they had their best offensive output on the season. Mississippi State fell to 9-6 on the year and under .500 in the conference for the first time this year.