Sometimes high hopes fall flat.
The Mississippi State soccer team is coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss against Gardner-Webb this past weekend.
It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Bulldogs (0-5), and they are hungry to get a win on the board.
And nobody wants it more than senior captain Sara Moore.
“Sara is our team captain,” head coach Neil Macdonald said. “She is a consistent player. You know what you’re gonna get from her every practice, every game.”
“She’s the rock of the back four. She holds it together.”
Moore is a defender/midfielder for the Maroon and White and see’s herself as a leader on the team.
On any given day, she can be found goofing around with her friends and teammates, while bringing a mixture of smiles and frowns in stressful situations.
Her teammates describe her as being very vocal and tense on the soccer field.
“During a game, I am vocal because I want to motivate my teammates,” Moore said. “At times the game can be stressful, and yelling seems to be an easy way to release some of the tension.”
The Texas native attended Noland Catholic High School.
As senior captain of the soccer team, she started all 28 games and helped her team finish runner-up at the state tournament and earn a No. 4 national ranking.
Moore also played club soccer for the Dallas D’feeters.
As captain, she helped lead the team to both championships and tournaments.
Her role as captain was to help her team win.
After graduation, Moore decided to come to Mississippi State and play soccer.
“When I first visited the campus, I noticed how beautiful it was,” Moore said. “It made me feel at home.”
In her first season, she played all 20 games, while starting 13. She averaged almost 57 minutes per game.
Moore also played 88 minutes in a game-ending tie against Alabama. Her first collegiate goal came in a game against Jacksonville State.
Her game-winning score against top-ranked Florida serves as Moore’s highlight from 2003.
“That was definitely the biggest game of my life,” Moore said.
As a sophomore, Moore played in all 21 games, while starting 19. She led the team with four goals in SEC play and also scored game winning goals against Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss.
She played a 90 minutes in the season opening game against Middle Tennessee State.
Last season, she was one of three players to start all 19 games.
Moore collected three assists against Georgia State, UTEP and Memphis. She played a season-high 110 minutes against Sacramento State and Ole Miss.
So far this season she has started all four games as captain of the squad and is looking forward to SEC play.
The Bulldogs will face Memphis and Southern Mississippi this weekend in non-conference matches on Friday and Sunday.