After being tabbed to finish third in the SEC West, the Bulldogs are tied for first after the first weekend of conference play. After a Friday loss to Arkansas, the Bulldogs bounced back with another defensive performance against LSU, taking out the Tigers 2-0. The Bulldogs now look ahead to the weekend with two key divisional matchups as Auburn and Alabama come to town. Both teams look to provide a challenge for Mississippi State as the war of the West has started off with a bang.
Mississippi State is enjoying a great year so far with an 8-4 (1-1) record on the year. The Bulldogs are second in the SEC in total points with 98, trailing only Alabama, who is on top with 113. The next team closest to the Bulldogs in points is Florida, who has racked up 77. Tennessee head coach Angela Kelly agrees that Mississippi State has had a great start to the season.
“I have the utmost respect for Neil McGuire,” she said. “I am glad that we don’t have to play them this year after they beat us last year. I am looking forward to seeing them in the SEC Tournament.”
Offense
The offense is speaking volumes, as the Bulldogs are second in the SEC in points, goals (32) and shots taken (210). They also are atop the conference with 34 assists. Coach Neil McGuire said that the offensive unit is working very well together and that they are working hard to make sure they cause a lot of trouble for their opponents.
The story of the year so far has been the play of top scorers Jessi Moore and Amy Van Zandt. Moore is second in the SEC with 24 points and is on pace to break the single-season school record that was set five years ago. She has also made a streak of her own, scoring at least one point in 10 consecutive games. She is first in the conference in assists as she continues to add to her single-season school record of 10. Moore is very humble about her accomplishment.
“It’s a great honor, but that just means someone else is getting the ball in the net,” she said. “Everybody has contributed offensively.”
She needs six more to become the all-time assist leader in Bulldog history. She has accomplished all of this in just her freshman year.
Van Zandt has the freshman record for goals with eight as she is tied for second in the conference. She is second in goals, fourth in points (21) and on pace to break the single-season school record for goals (12). She and the other freshmen on the team have accounted for 65 of the team’s 98 points, which is over 66 percent of the total offense. McGuire said that the strength of both Moore and Van Zandt lie in their humility.
“No matter how good they are as players, they make sure they are part of a team,” he said. “They are very creative and natural goal scorers, and I think they lend themselves to make sure others around them play to their full potential.”
Defense
The physical defense of Mississippi State has been a key to their success as they have shut out four of their last five opponents. Leading that defense is goalie Krystal Werges. She has compiled a goals against average of 1.43 as Mississippi State is fourth in the conference in team saves (51). She is also tied for third in the conference with three shutouts. Werges said she is confident about the weekend, believing that they have a great chance at extending their home unbeaten streak to nine.
“If we stay mentally positive and everybody is prepared, we will be fine,” Werges said. “I think people really don’t know that we are coming strong. My own team, even some of the girls, don’t even realize how awesome we are.”
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 32-16 on the year, and they plan to continue their dominance this weekend against Auburn and Alabama.
This weekend, defender Karen Sandrik will be back for her first start since having arthroscopic knee surgery on Sept. 20. In the six games she has played in, four of them have been starts.
Opponents
Auburn comes into the game at 5-3-1 (1-1) and looks to avenge a 1-0 defeat to Georgia over the weekend. The Tigers are ranked fourth in the Central region as ranked by the NSCAA, and are coming off a 1-3-1 record in their last five, including a 2-0 loss to No. 1 North Carolina.
Auburn has shown little offensive output this season as they have scored 15 goals in nine games, connecting on their shots 10 percent of the time. They are next to last in the category, with only Vanderbilt saving them from being at the bottom. Auburn has a stingy defense that ranks first in the conference, allowing only .77 goals per game. McGuire said that Auburn will be up to the challenge.
“I think Auburn will be well prepared for us,” he said. “Auburn is well-organized and has excellent players, and I think it will be a battle for us.”
The Tigers have shown toughness, keeping up with opponents but just falling short. They held the No. 1 Tar Heels to their second-lowest output of the year in a losing cause and three weeks earlier, they upset sixth-ranked Virginia 1-0 before hitting the skid. Forward Sarah Steinmann and goalie Megan Rivera are leading the Tigers this year.
Steinmann leads Auburn with nine points and has scored three game-winning goals. Rivera has tallied three shutouts and is fourth in the conference in goals against average. Auburn is 3-2-1 in games decided by a goal or less, so Mississippi State may be in a defensive tug of war Friday. McGuire said that it would be an end-to-end game and that they hope to get behind them to get a lot of scoring opportunities. Van Zandt said that their main focus heading into the weekend was to play as a team.
“Against Arkansas, we kind of panicked a little I think, and at LSU we kept it together,” Van Zandt said. “If we do that this weekend, we’ll definitely be successful as a team. We are our worst enemy. When we get beat, we pretty much beat ourselves. It’s normally something that we did wrong.”
Alabama will be a challenge for Mississippi State as well. The Tide has started off 0-2 in the conference, and, after an 8-1 start, they are trying to find their way out of the bottom of the division. They have an explosive offense as they have 113 points in 11 games, but some would question their schedule. Alabama has beaten teams such as McNeese State and Alabama A&M soundly, but their only non-conference loss came to Middle Tennessee State, who is 6-4 on the year. McGuire has a great respect for head coach Don Staley.
“I think he’s done the right thing playing a schedule that may be considered a confidence builder,” he said. “Alabama is a strong and talented team, and they will be a major force in the SEC.”
Defender Danielle Watson is 15th in the country in points per game (2.27), and the team as a whole is second, averaging 3.64 points a game. In non-conference play, the Tide has outscored their opponents 39-6, including a 9-0 demolishing of McNeese State. They lost to Georgia and Tennessee over the weekend as the offense was shut down, scoring one goal. Co-captain and defender Amber Meesey said she is up to the challenge that Alabama presents.
“We are still on fire from last week’s game, so we will come out and give it our all and hope we get some wins,” she said. “Defensively we can take anybody. I have confidence in our forwards that we’ll take care of business out there.”
McGuire said MSU will have to try to curb their enthusiasm, as they are very passionate about what they do.
Alabama’s defense has been a factor in their success as teams are finding it hard to score. In their win against Alabama A&M, the Bulldogs managed only one shot and one corner kick. The team is aggressive too, as Ellen Sanders and Jennifer Schuble were suspended for the game against Tennessee due to fighting and violent conduct in the loss to Georgia.
Along with Watson, Katie French leads the Tide’s arsenal, as she is third in the SEC in total points, second in goals and assists and has two game-winning goals.
Moore said that it will be a tough weekend for them as they try to pull two big divisional wins to keep them on top of the division.
“We know it’s a real test for us,” she said. “We showed a lot of character in the LSU game, coming back after the loss to Arkansas. It’s going to come down to see if we really want to win.”
The Bulldogs’ game against Auburn today at 4 p.m. will be televised tape-delayed on Sunday, airing at 3 p.m. McGuire encourages everyone to come out and support the team, as he wants to see the attendance record broken. Sunday’s game against Alabama is set for 1 p.m.