Hurricane Isaac has made its mark on the Mississippi State soccer team without even being in Starkville. This weekend’s Southern Miss Tournament was supposed to be played at Southern Miss, but the Tournament has been canceled. However, State will still play scheduled opponents Georgia State and Lousiana Monroe, but in Starkville.
Only three games into the season, team has already found a rhythm. The Bulldogs are off to a 3-0 start after their dominant performances last weekend against UT-Martin and South Alabama, where they won 5-0 in a shutout. The Bulldogs’ three victories in non-conference play are as many as they won in non-conference play all of last season, when their record was 3-3-2 outside of SEC competition.
Non-conference games are often overlooked, but head coach Neil MacDonald said these games are very important.
“Tennessee Martin is a quality team, and it was a tough and very physical game similar to what we’ll see in the SEC,” McDonald said.
Senior captain Madison McKee said playing well early in the season gives the team confidence going into conference play.
“It feels good to be 3-0. There are positive vibes, the coaches are happy and it just builds confidence going into SEC,” McKee said. “We want to go into SEC play with an undefeated record.”
One standout aspect so far this season has been the strong play from some of the team’s freshmen. MacDonald said freshman midfielder Honeye Heydari, already an impact player for the team this year scoring two goals, will be very important to the team. “She’s such a relaxed player and has so much confidence in her own ability,” MacDonald said. “She’s a quality player and was recruited by a lot of schools, so we hoped she would come in and make an immediate impact.”
Heydari said she was actually a little surprised she is playing so well so early.
“I knew it would be hard, so I prepared all summer. I ran a lot so I could be ready for soccer,” Heydari said.
Apparently it paid off, because despite being young, she is already adjusting to this level just fine.
Another key factor this season has been the strong defensive play. The Bulldogs recorded a shutout in their last game, but as solid as the defense has been, Grimes said they can be better and that they still have work to do.
“I think we look good. we have a lot of potential, but we’re still working out some kinks,” Grimes said. “We’re trying to get into each other’s flow and figure out how everyone plays. I think we’re getting better from the first games, and we’re going to improve even more.”
Obviously, the girls are not satisfied and want to continue to work and get better. This weekend they will have an opportunity to extend their winning streak. Junior defender Morganne Grimes said she is very confident the team will do well in these games.
“We’re hoping for two wins and two shutouts,” Grimes said.
Tonight the Dogs host ULM at 7. On Sunday the team plays Georgia State at 12:30 p.m. If the Bulldogs can pull off victories in both games, they will be 5-0, which would be their best start since 2009 when they started 8-0 and went undefeated in non-conference play.