The Mississippi State soccer team is seeking better results this weekend as Vanderbilt and Tennessee come to town.
MSU entered last weekend with high hopes as the team took an undefeated record on the road to begin SEC play with games at South Carolina on Friday and Kentucky on Sunday. Overall, the weekend did not go as planned, and the girls returned home with no victories, going 0-1-1 in the two games.
However, this past weekend was not a complete failure. Even though MSU did not win the game against South Carolina, head coach Neil MacDonald said the girls played well as they tied in double overtime against a stingy South Carolina defense.
“We were excellent Friday. We played some really good soccer,” Macdonald said. “We created a lot of good opportunities in the game, and I felt we were a bit unlucky that we didn’t win the game.”
The players agreed with their coach. Senior captain Madison McKee said the girls were happy with the way they played last Friday.
“We always want to win, but a 0-0 tie against them at their home in double overtime was a positive feeling,” McKee said.
Things did not go as well for the following game on Sunday as the Bulldogs traveled from South Carolina to Lexington, Ky., to play the Wildcats. The Dogs lost the game 3-0. The Wildcats got out to a 2-0 lead early, and State could never recover.
Macdonald said fatigue played a role in the way the team played against Kentucky.
“I thought we came out very flat,” he said. “We looked very tired from the travel and the fact that we played 110 minutes on Friday night in the game that went into double overtime.”
MSU struggled offensively in this game, as well. State did not possess the ball very much, and because of this, the Bulldogs’ opportunities for offense were few and far between. Kentucky controlled possession the majority of the game, and it showed in the final box score as Kentucky had 21 shot attempts to MSU’s six.
Macdonald said the team’s lack of possessions was a reason for its offensive struggles.
“We didn’t create much offense because we didn’t have the ball,” Macdonald said. “We have to earn the right to play with the ball.”
The most surprising factor in the Kentucky game was the amount of points State allowed. MSU came into the game with six straight shutouts, which is a school record, but then gave up three goals to the Wildcats. 
Despite the disappointing performance, goal keeper Skylar Rosson said she is still optimistic about the team’s potential moving forward.
“We’re past that game, and we’re getting ready for this weekend,” Rosson said. “I still have just as much confidence in us as I did before.”
State has no time to dwell on this past weekend with a Vanderbilt team coming to town Friday to which MSU has dropped four out the last five games.  After that game, MSU hosts an even tougher opponent in No. 23 Tennessee. Vanderbilt and Tennessee played each other last weekend and tied.
The Bulldogs have the opportunity to find out where they stand in the conference and make a case for SEC and NCAA Tournament appearances with two big wins over the Commodores and Volunteers.