Mississippi State’s soccer team experienced both the best of times and the worst of times during the weekend, securing a huge 1-0 upset against No. 17 Georgia before a 4-0 loss to No. 11 Tennessee brought the team back to earth.Katelyn Graben’s late strike earned State its biggest win of the season Friday night, securing a 1-0 win over No. 17 Georgia.
Graben’s goal, her fourth of the season, came unassisted with nine minutes left to play. It was State’s only shot on target in a match dominated by Georgia.
State goalkeeper Taryn Holland was in top form, making nine saves to record her third clean sheet of the season. Eight of those nine saves came during the first half, as Georgia controlled most of the run of play early on and threatened Holland’s goal constantly.
State was not without its chances. Treena Ferguson shot wide in the first half twice, while Bethany Frazier and Ashley Drake, earning her first start of the season, also missed the target.
Georgia fashioned several chances, taking 16 shots during the opening half, but could not find an end product as the MSU defense stood resolute.
State gradually gained a foothold in the match after the restart, frustrating the Georgia offense repeatedly while restricting them to just one shot on goal.
MSU began to show signs of life at the other end as well, as the forward pairing of Graben and Ferguson began to cause trouble for Georgia’s defense.
The breakthrough finally came after 81 minutes, as Graben collected a loose ball outside the area and sent a deflected shot past Georgia goalkeeper Michelle Betos for her third game-winner of the season.
MSU head coach Neil MacDonald praised his hard-working defense, and was pleased with his team’s display of character during the upset win.
“I thought we battled for 90 minutes tonight,” MacDonald said. “Our back four played outstanding. To beat the top team in the conference on their home field is huge and really shows the character these girls have.”
The Bulldogs could not manage another upset at Tennessee on Sunday, falling 4-0 to the No. 11 Lady Vols. Tennessee controlled the game from the outset, sending in several dangerous crosses early on. Mick Imgram sent her shot over the bar for the first shot of the game.
Tennessee’s offense was causing State’s defense to have problems down the left side, with forward Kylee Rossi in particular looking especially dangerous.
The Lady Vols made the breakthrough in the 35th minute, with Rossi tricking her way into the box from the left before squaring for Tanya Emerson to knock in from six yards.
Rossi had the same opportunity minutes later, this time opting for a looping cross that had Holland scrambling to tip off the crossbar.
Rossi finally got on board with a goal in the 32nd minute, taking a through ball from Emily Redburg around Holland to score from a tight angle.
MSU’s resistance unravled following Rossi’s goal, as Redburg’s quick shot from the left found the far bottom corner.
Redburg then made it 4-0 from the opposite side as she scored on a mirror image of her first goal from Imgram’s assist.