In MSU’s first trip to the Southeastern Conference Tournament since 2001, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs fell to Vanderbilt 1-0 in the opening round Thursday evening at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
State nearly got on the board early in the contest as Meghan Odom’s 20-yard shot sailed just right of Vandy keeper Tyler Griffin. Griffin, a first team all-SEC selection in goal, once again slowed down the Bulldog offense attack as she corralled Betty Ann Casey’s shot just over nine minutes into the game.
Despite being outshot nine-to-four in the first period, Vandy broke the scoreless tie in the 33rd minute when Commodore forward Alexis Yoculan beat Bulldog keeper Emily Meyers.
Yoculan took the pass from Sarah Dennis inside the Bulldog box, made a move to elude her defender, completed a 180-degree turn with the ball and fired a quick shot into the back of the net.
“It was a really good play that she just took advantage of,” defender Morgan McDonald said. “We probably weren’t in the best defensive position that we should have been, and she was in the right offensive position.”
The Commodores used a dominating defensive effort in the second half to limit the Bulldogs to only two second half shots.
“I thought that we worked very hard tonight, but we struggled to finish our offensive chances and I think that probably came back to bite us at the end,” said head coach Neil MacDonald. “We did everything right apart from executing.”
Following the tournament game with Vandy, the Bulldogs were forced to wait until Monday afternoon to learn their NCAA Tournament fate.
As the players and coaches gathered inside the team locker room, they learned their hopes and aspirations of an NCAA bid fell just short and that their season had come to a close.
“This is especially disappointing for us seniors because this was our last chance to play in the NCAA’s,” McDonald said. “But with the strength of players coming in next year and the core of players still here, hopefully they can do it next year.”
“I think we worked hard enough to earn a bid,” senior Karen Sandrik said. “If you look at the teams that got one, they were teams that won their conference and we didn’t. In the end it was their opinion and not ours.”
Despite failing to earn an NCAA invitation, State finished the regular season with an overall record of 9-9-3 and a 5-5-1 mark inside the SEC. The Bulldogs tied a school-record for wins in the SEC that was previously set by the 2001 club.