A game-tying goal at the end of regulation gave life to the Mississippi State soccer team Friday night, but the Dogs could not find the back of the net in overtime, settling for a 1-1 draw against Troy University.
The game marked the fourth straight match in which MSU has played into overtime, a new school record. The record, however, is something MSU head coach Neil Macdonald said he has mixed emotions about.
“At this point, we’re just going to give them a few days off, for rest and recovery. We won’t do very much at all and try and get our legs underneath us again. We probably won’t touch a ball again until late Monday evening,” Macdonald said. “I’ll go ahead and give the girls a tremendous amount of credit as well, though, because that’s our fourth game in eight days, which is crazy. And considering we’ve played overtime in all those games, you have to give them credit that they stuck to the job and remained undefeated in those games.”
State, who came into the game first in the Southeastern Conference in shot attempts, showed early and often why the team owns that title, outshooting Troy 26-11 throughout the game.
Although the Bulldogs dominated large portions of the game, it was the Trojans who struck first, as forward Alissa Jones put a one-timer into the back of the net in the 68th minute of the game, giving Troy a 1-0 lead.
Troy had a chance to put the game away late, but a header in the 84th minute was saved by MSU goalkeeper Lisa Monteith. Monteith, a freshman, saw the first action of her career at MSU on Friday night. Skylar Rosson, a junior goalkeeper who had started every other game for the Bulldogs prior to Friday night, was suspended for the match after receiving a red card during State’s game against Southern Miss on Sept. 13. Monteith made the most of her opportunity, saving four shots in the game. Coming off hip surgery this past March, she said this was her first opportunity to get back into the flow of things.
“I’m happy with myself, and I’m proud that I didn’t let that goal get me down,” Monteith said. “I’m pretty satisfied with how I did.”
Just when it seemed the game was over, the Dogs sparked back to life, striking gold in the 86th minute, when sophomore defender Morganne Grimes was able to put a rebounded ball past Troy goalkeeper Ashley Branham to tie the game 1-1.
Grimes’s goal was the first of her career at State, and she said her late-minute equalizer was reminiscent of the way she and her teammates play.
“The last couple of minutes are always hectic,”Grimes said. “We just seem to always wait until the very end to try and tie it up. We never give up.”
The goal gave the Bulldogs the momentum going into overtime, and although they outshot Troy 7-1 in the overtime periods, they were unable to convert. Senior forward Tarah Henderson, junior midfielder Jasmine Simmons, junior midfielder Zehra Syed and sophomore forward Elisabeth Sullivan all narrowly missed the back of the net on shots that could have proven to be the difference in the game.
Although MSU controlled the game offensively, Coach Macdonald said the team’s offensive consistency must improve.
“I’m a little frustrated,” Macdonald said. “I think that we obviously dominated large parts of the game, we took 26 shots, but I’m frustrated that we’re not taking the chances that we’re making.”
The Lady Dogs will look to become more consistent immediately, as conference play begins this Friday when MSU travels to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers. The players are hopeful they will have more success in conference play than a year ago, when they struggled to a 1-10 record in conference play, their only win being against Ole Miss.
Grimes, a defender who scored the game-tying goal in the waning minutes of regulation Friday night, said the games leading up to the SEC opener play a vital role in preparation for conference play.
“These games have definitely helped us. They show us what we need to work on, what we are good at and what we excel at,” Grimes said. “We’re definitely expecting to compete with every single SEC team and make it to the tournament.”

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