Cindy Rainville’s 18-yard chip shot just more than a minute into the second half of sudden death overtime lifted homestanding South Alabama (3-3-1) to a 2-1 victory over Mississippi State (4-3) Sunday afternoon at The Cage in Mobile, Ala. Although trailing 5-1 in shots at the close of the first period, Mississippi State found ways to create scoring opportunities for itself the rest of the way out and finished the contest with a 12-10 shot advantage. The Bulldogs also finished with an advantage in corner kicks (5-4) and were outfouled by the Jaguars as well (27-17).
“We knew this game was going to be a battle,” Mississippi State head coach Neil McGuire said. “South Alabama played with great vigor and enthusiasm which made life difficult for our team. Once again, we had opportunities to win, yet we did not execute at appropriate times.”
Mississippi State used a corner kick just more than 58 minutes into the game to break a scoreless deadlock and take a 1-0 lead. Brie Wallace showcased a perfect serve into the box while Amber Meesey finished with a header to the far post, just outside the reach of Jaguar keeper Kyla Rogers. South Alabama knotted the score back up in the 63rd minute (62:46) on Rainville’s first goal of the game that skirted underneath MSU goalkeeper Krystal Werges.
State blanked the Jaguars with a 4-0 shot advantage in the first sudden death overtime period, but Rainville took advantage of USA’s lone shot in overtime, chipping a shot over the head of Werges in the 107th minute (106:26) to give South Alabama its second-straight win over an SEC opponent.
Mississippi State will again be in action on Tuesday evening when the Bulldogs travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., for a contest with the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. Game time is set for 7 p.m. under the lights of Finley Stadium. The Bulldogs will return home this weekend, taking on Duquesne on Friday at 4 p.m. and UTEP on Sunday at 1 p.m.