The Mississippi State soccer team traveled to Oxford Friday night with hopes of bringing the Magnolia Cup back to Starkville. However, the No. 23 Lady Rebels proved too much for the Bulldogs for the fourth straight season, blanking MSU 2-0.
Mother Nature also took one more parting shot at the Bulldogs, as the game was played in heavy rain. Conditions were such that the game was moved to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, which uses FieldTurf instead of natural grass. The unusually wet fall affected several games this season, forcing the Bulldogs to practice indoors for most of their SEC schedule.
MSU had trouble early on adjusting to the conditions, managing only two shots in the first period to Ole Miss’ ten. Sophomore midfielder Lauren Morgan provided State’s lone shot on goal in the first.
The Lady Rebels converted one shot into a goal 7 minutes into the match, but the Bulldogs held them scoreless the rest of the period.
In the second half, MSU came out aggressive, taking six shots with two on goal, both by junior forward Danielle Kite. However, Ole Miss’ goalkeeper stopped each shot, finishing with three saves on the night.
For her part, MSU’s senior goalkeeper Taryn Holland stopped four shots on goal, to add to her Mississippi State career record — 368 saves. Holland finished just five saves shy of the SEC career record.
The Lady Rebels tacked on one more score with 4 minutes remaining to seal the win.
Head coach Neil Macdonald said his team fought hard under tough conditions.
“I’m proud of the way we fought, especially in the second half,” he said. “It was a very competitive game, but Ole Miss showed why they are ranked 23rd in the nation. They’re a very good team.”
MSU played the match without its leading scorer, junior forward Kat Walsh, who was out with an illness. Walsh said she was still able to attend the game and was proud of how her team played without her.
“Ole Miss brought their game, and they’re just a good team,” she said. “They scored two great goals; the kind that are almost too good to stop. We gave them a fight until the end, and I’m proud of our team.”
Walsh reflected on this season and said she is excited about next year.
“I thought this season was great,” she said. “I did what I came here to do — make a difference — and I feel like I did my part for the team. I’m looking forward to what we can do [next season]. We had some key players that stepped up when we needed it, and I feel that we can build off of that next season.”
Freshman forward Rachel Wannek said there were things the team could have done better, but there were some positives to build on for next season as well.
“I thought that we could have had a better result [this year],” she said. “We had a few mental breakdowns in some important games, but a big positive for us was when we tied South Carolina and Florida because it showed us that we could compete at the highest level.”
Only losing three seniors, Macdonald said he is excited about his returning squad.
“Our freshman class has done an excellent job this season, and they are only going to get better. We started to turn a corner, and I think you’ll see us move forward as a program,” he said.
Mississippi State finished its first winning season since 2003 with a 9-8-2 record (1-8-2 in SEC). Its 8-game winning streak to start the season was the longest in school history.