Winning on the road in the Southeastern Conference is a tough task for any squad.
It’s even tougher when you can’t score.
The Mississippi State soccer team (2-11-0,1-5-0) picked up two disappointing losses on the road this past weekend.
First, the squad lost to Auburn (8-3-2, 2-2-2) on Friday, and then followed the defeat up with another shutout at Alabama (5-8-0, 1-4-0) on Sunday.
Friday
The Bulldogs dropped a heart-breaking 1-0 decision in a hard-fought match against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The Bulldogs came close to scoring in the first half when Mariclaire Fancher sent a pass up the middle to Ashley Hood.
Hood took a shot, but UA netminder Kara Gudmens knocked it away, and the Crimson Tide escaped an MSU threat.
Early in the second half, Alabama pounded MSU goalkeeper, Taryn Holland with four straight shots.
After the Bulldogs cleared the ball out of bounds, Jessica Deegan sent a corner kick toward the net.
The Bulldogs attempted to head the ball away, but it went into the goal to give Alabama a 1-0 lead and eventually the win.
Sunday
Up next for the Bulldogs was the Auburn Tigers.
After giving up four goals in the first half, the Bulldogs went down 6-0 in a disappointing fashion.
The Tigers came out firing and scored their first goal in the 17th minute on a shot by Gabi Rivera to give the home team took a 1-0 lead.
MSU came close to scoring seconds later when Mariclaire Fancher’s shot arched past the left post.
AU continued to press MSU. They took a 2-0 lead around the half mark, when Sara Moore attempted to head the ball away from the goal but instead knocked it through the net.
That is the second consecutive time MSU has landed the ball into their own goal.
The Tigers had a 4-0 lead at halftime.
They came out in the second half with the same intensity.
They scored twice more to give MSU their worst loss of the season.
The Bulldogs have now been held scoreless for their last 365:47 minutes of playing time.
State will be on the road again next weekend, as they take on South Carolina Friday and No.16 Florida Sunday.