The Mississippi State soccer team found the SEC West to be no friendlier than the East this weekend, dropping a 1-0 decision to Arkansas (8-3-4, 2-3-2 in SEC) and a 4-0 match to LSU (10-3-3, 6-1-1). The losses put the Bulldogs’ overall record at 8-6-2, and the team continues to be winless in the SEC.
MSU worked on getting more players involved in scoring attacks all last week to prepare for the matches, but after the Arkansas game, head coach Neil Macdonald said his offense still has to take more chances when on the opponent’s side of the field.
“It was a close game, but Arkansas created more opportunities than we did,” he said. “We didn’t do a good job when we had the ball in the final third of the field.”
MSU started off slow offensively, taking only six shots in the first half to Arkansas’ 13. But State picked up the pace for the second period, nearly matching Arkansas’ 12 shots with 11 of their own. Junior forward Ashley Hood led the Bulldogs with five shots, two on goal.
However, that one extra shot by Arkansas would make all the difference, as Lady “Back Ally” Atkins snuck a goal past senior goalkeeper Taryn Holland with 2 minutes to go for the win. Junior defender Leanna Baldner said a defensive mistake led to the late goal.
“It was a defensive error – we didn’t get the ball out and then missed a tackle or two,” she said. “It’s always a little discouraging when something like that happens because we’re thinking we can score or go to overtime, and then all of a sudden they put the ball in the net.”
On Sunday, the Bulldogs took on the No. 15 LSU Tigers at Baton Rouge. LSU sits atop the SEC West as one of the top scoring offenses and stingiest defenses in the conference, and all the Tigers’ power was on display in the match against State.
MSU was on the attack early as sophomore forward Tarah Henderson beat two defenders on a potential scoring drive, but was denied by the Tiger goalkeeper. LSU rebounded, with back-to- back goals at the 10 and 11-minute marks. The Tigers added two more for a 4-0 halftime lead.
The Bulldog defense made the necessary adjustments at halftime and held the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the way – unfortunately, so did LSU.
“LSU is probably the best team we’ve seen this year at possessing the ball and breaking down the defense,” Macdonald said. The Tigers held the Bulldogs to only 8 shots, led by junior forward Kat Walsh with three shots. Walsh, who transferred from LSU after the 2007 season, had been looking forward to the match all season, but apparently LSU was ready for her.
“It seemed like whenever I got the ball, there was a lot of pressure. Almost like a double-team or triple team,” she said. “It really felt like their main goal was to shut me out. Second half I think we picked it up a little bit. We competed with them, which was good but it wasn’t enough.”