The Mississippi State soccer team hopes to ride the wave of excitement from Sunday’s shutout victory into Oxford tonight, and bring the Magnolia Cup back to Starkville.
The last three years, Ole Miss has housed the trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Ole Miss-State match. The Magnolia Cup tradition began in spring of 2003.
The Lady Rebels (11-4-2, 5-2-2 in SEC) are coming off a home loss to Vanderbilt, who snapped the Rebels’ six-game winning streak, and seek to regain their footing against the Bulldogs (9-7-2, 1-7-2).
The Bulldogs won their first SEC match in two years in a physical matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend and are looking to extend a new streak into the 2010 season.
Ole Miss faces MSU en route to its fifth-seeded bid in the SEC Tournament. MSU is no longer in the running, but has a golden opportunity to play spoiler to their arch-rival and send the Rebels careening into the tournament in Orange Beach, Ala., next month.
The last time MSU defeated Mississippi was in 2004, head coach Neil Macdonald’s first season at the helm. The two squads tied in 2005, but since 2006 the series has been all Ole Miss. MSU’s all-time record is 4-8-3 against the Rebels.
Macdonald said the win in the final home game last week was a good lift for the team going into tonight’s match and his team will not be intimidated.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “We’re positive from [Sunday’s] performance. I’ve said it about these girls many, many times – I think they’re capable of beating anybody on any day.”
Macdonald said when it comes to the Magnolia Cup, records are secondary.
“We have our pride to play for, and representing the jersey and the Maroon and White,” he said. “It’s always a very passionate affair. There are a lot of Mississippi girls involved in it as well, which adds to the occasion.”
Junior defender Leanna Baldner is a Meridian native who grew up without a preference between the two schools, but said that changed her freshman year.
“Of course, now I’m a big State fan,” she said. “There’s a lot that I put into it. [I’m] a lot more invested in it now that I’m a Bulldog and part of the team.”
Baldner said some new players might have to dig into their past to really get the importance of the match.
“I’m sure every person has had their rivalries against some team,” she said. “[But] I don’t think they exactly know. You have to play a game to see that – who’s your biggest rival.”
One Bulldog, freshman midfielder Jasmine Simmons from Edmond, Okla., said she expects the match to be very physical.
“I just expect it to be a battle,” she said. “Not being from here, I don’t know how big of a rival it really is yet. I’m obviously aware [of the rivalry], but I won’t know exactly how it is until I play on Friday.”