Mississippi State’s soccer team goes into its first round of Southeastern Conference play this weekend with a pair of away games, taking on the LSU Tigers on Friday and the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday.The Bulldogs (4-4) will hope to bounce back from their last outing, a crushing 5-0 defeat to Memphis.
Not including its victories over Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern, which came in neutral territory, the team has yet to win away from home this season.
State’s back-to-back home wins over Rice and North Florida prove the Bulldogs have what it takes to win at home, and head coach Neil MacDonald said he realizes the difficulty of repeating that form on the road.
“The real challenge this weekend is all the traveling we must do,” MacDonald said. “We’re going to be on the road a lot, and we must be mentally and physically prepared for that.”
Part of the preparation this week involves tweaking the team’s formation to deal with the attacking threat of LSU and the stingy defense of Arkansas.
The Tigers lead the SEC in goals scored with an average of three goals per game, while Arkansas boasts the conference’s best defense with a .33 goals against average.
“We’re working on a slightly different formation to counteract them,” MacDonald said. “We have a busy week of practice ahead of us.”
LSU (6-1-2) will also be looking to rebound from its last match, which saw the Tigers drop a team record-tying unbeaten streak of 10 games with a 3-0 loss to Davidson.
Having outscored their opponents 27-8 so far this season, the Tigers go into the weekend sitting third in the SEC Western Division.
LSU forward Rachel Yepez leads the SEC with nine goals and 19 assists.
Her three goals last week, including a goal and assist in the Tiger’s 2-2 draw with No. 4 Texas, earned the sophomore SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“LSU is going to be very strong,” MacDonald said. “They have several skilled international players and are a very fluent, attacking team that usually has a large and rambunctious crowd behind them.”
State faces a different threat Sunday, as Arkansas’ defense has only conceded three goals this season, compared to the 18 goals MSU has leaked so far.
Arkansas goalkeeper Britni Williams has earned seven shutouts, helping the team to a 7-2 record and second place in the SEC West.
Arkansas forwards Kelly O’Conner and Lindsay Patterson have recorded four goals each, adding an attacking threat to the team.
The Razorbacks are coming off a 5-0 win over Jacksonville State and a 1-0 overtime win over Missouri State last weekend, lifting their winning streak to four.
MSU has had a productive offense this season, with Treena Ferguson and Bethany Frazier both second in the SEC for goals and assists, respectively.
If the Bulldog attack remains in top form over the weekend, MacDonald believes the team has enough firepower to cope with Arkansas’ solid defense.
“Arkansas will be very well organized, but I think we should match up very well with them,” he said.
Although Arkansas also fell victim to Memphis, MacDonald considers State’s 5-0 defeat to the same side on Sunday to be the product of a breakdown in team mentality and said the team can do better.
“I think we had a mental lull on Sunday,” MacDonald said. “It was not a true reflection of the kind of team we are and can be.