The Lady Bulldogs soccer team lost a heartbreaker to SMU 2-1 Sunday in double overtime at the MSU soccer field.
MSU fell to 1-6-0, while SMU advanced to 5-2-1.
“We were flat in the first half,” MSU head coach Neil MacDonald said. “It took us a while to get going. But the second half we were a different team. We closed on the ball well and put good pressure on them. I felt like we really dominated the second half.”
With 16 minutes underway in the first half, SMU player Olivia O’Rear connected on her first goal to give SMU a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs continued to keep the ball rolling as they pounded the net, keeping goalkeeper Stephanie Dallas on her toes.
The MSU defense put pressure on the Mustangs and held them from scoring before intermission.
The Bulldogs came out with more intensity in the second half.
With four minutes underway in the half, junior forward Treena Ferguson scored her forth goal of the season from a shot inside the box to even the score 1-1.
Mississippi State came close to striking again on a shot by Hannah Tyler in front of the goal.
But the ball went cruising over the net, leaving the game tied and both teams facing overtime.
The Bulldogs carried their momentum into the final sessions.
State had their best chance to win the game, when Kevyn Shelledy sent a flying missile shot that bounced off the post and back on the field of play.
The Bulldogs were given a second opportunity when Ferguson passed the ball to an open Shelledy, who shot it in the net.
However, the Bulldog faithful jumped to their feet just in time to see the officials take the goal away from Shelledy for offsides.
The tie and the game came to a dramatic end in the second overtime, when O’Rear kicked the ball into an open net, leaving the Bulldogs speechless.
“We got a goal we deserved,” MacDonald said. “And you could say that over the game, we deserved to grab a second. We hit the post and had a good couple of chances. We just quite didn’t put them away.”
The Bulldogs take on the Georgia Bulldogs at home Friday at 7 p.m. to open conference play.