Coming off a 1-1 weekend against Alabama and Auburn, the Mississippi State soccer team closes out its four-game home stand this weekend, taking on South Carolina on Friday and Florida on Sunday.The Bulldogs (7-5, 1-3 SEC) earned their first Southeastern Conference win with a 3-1 victory over Alabama last weekend, but the result was tempered by Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Auburn.
Treena Ferguson picked up her sixth goal of the season in the win over Alabama, while freshmen Lauren Host and Leanna Baldner each scored their first career goals in the final six minutes to put the game away.
Against Auburn, the game remained scoreless until Caitlin King’s winner with three minutes remaining gave the Tigers a narrow win.
Ferguson leads MSU in almost every offensive category. Her six goals place her fourth in the conference in goals scored, and she is second in points per game (1.25) and total shots (44). Bethany Frazier leads the team with six assists so far, second in the SEC and 24th in the nation.
The Bulldogs sit last in the SEC Western Division but share the same amount of points as their Eastern Division weekend visitors.
South Carolina (9-4, 1-3 SEC) is coming off a similar weekend.
After defeating Kentucky 2-0 at home, the Gamecocks conceded a goal with nine seconds left in double overtime to lose 1-0 to Vanderbilt.
After going 8-1 in non-conference play this season, the Gamecocks have had a tough time against SEC opponents so far. Consecutive overtime losses to Georgia and Tennessee caused the team to fall in the national rankings while the loss to Vanderbilt ended their 15-game home winning streak.
Still, the Gamecocks record is a formidable one.
South Carolina’s offense, led by senior forward Darcel Mollon, is the third most productive forward in the SEC, averaging 2.08 goals per game. Mollon is tied for second in the SEC goal charts after scoring seven goals so far this season.
Despite their recent losses, the Gators are still ranked 28th in the nation in this week’s Soccer Buzz poll.
The Gamecocks have not lost a game by more than one goal this season, and three of their four losses have come in overtime. They currently sit next to last in the SEC Eastern Division, just behind Florida.
Florida (5-4-2, 1-2 SEC), meanwhile, have had nearly the same recent schedule as the Gamecocks and produced similar results.
The team began SEC play with a 1-2 loss away to Georgia, followed by a 2-0 loss at Tennessee.
The Gators’ first SEC win of the season came Sunday in the form of a rain soaked 1-0 home win against Kentucky, with All-American senior Stacy Bishop heading in the winner.
Bishop is the Gators’ in-form player at the moment, scoring the team’s last three goals.
Florida has only managed to score an SEC worst 12 goals this year, but with only nine goals conceded, the Gators are clearly defensive-minded.
The match against South Carolina is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Friday evening, while the Florida match takes place Sunday at noon. Both matches will be played at the MSU soccer complex.