Cowbells rang, bleachers thundered and maroon and white-painted shirtless fans counted down the last seconds of the final home game of the Mississippi State soccer season Sunday. Also ending on Senior Day was the Bulldogs’ 22-game losing streak to SEC foes, with a 2-0 shutout of Kentucky.
Before the matchup began, Mississippi State honored its seniors: goalkeeper Taryn Holland, forward Andrea Harrison, defender Hannah Tyler and team assistant Katelyn Graben. All three players remained on the field to open the match against Kentucky.
MSU showed aggression early and often, attacking the Kentucky defense and slamming the Wildcat forwards at every turn, charging up the crowd and especially themselves.
Tyler cemented the defense and set the tone in the first half, defusing nearly every attempt by the Wildcats to drive the ball inside, slamming her 5’2″ frame into the Kentucky forwards (one towering at 6′ 3″) and stripping the ball away.
On the other end, junior forward Danielle Kite kept the pressure on along with Harrison and junior forward Kat Walsh.
At the end of the first half, State and Kentucky had posted identical stats – 4 shots, 3 saves – but the edge in intensity was clearly in MSU’s corner.
The Bulldogs continued to push in the second period, finally hitting paydirt at 55 minutes on a 25-yard strike from sophomore midfielder Lauren Morgan off the assist from freshman forward Rachel Wannek and sophomore midfielder Kim Pettit.
Pettit recovered the ball after a block by Kentucky defenders, then dropped it right in front of Morgan for the score from the top of the box.
MSU added insurance at 84 minutes, when top scorer Kat Walsh chipped a deflection off the sliding Wildcat goalkeeper for an unassisted goal, her ninth of the season.
At that point, State’s smothering defense took over, allowing only two shots in the second period and securing the Bulldogs’ first SEC win in two years.
Head coach Neil Macdonald said the win felt good and he was proud of how his team dominated the game, especially in the second period.
“The girls reacted extremely well the second half,” he said. “They came out and raised their game. I showed them the statistics at the end, and we’d outshot them, had more corner kicks and more shots on goal. In the second, we really went direct and started winning that first and second ball,” he said.
He said Morgan’s game-winning goal was the result of players keeping the ball in the box, creating extra opportunities.
“We ask Lauren all the time to shoot more, and she got herself in great position,” he said. “It was a great strike, a good buildup. Kim Pettit did extremely well under pressure to relay the ball back to her.”
Holland, who had four saves and needs only nine to tie the SEC career record, said she was proud of how the team played.
“I think we really deserved it,” she said. “The girls wanted to do it for the seniors, and the seniors wanted a win on Senior Day. That was really important to us.”
Tyler said she could not play her last home game and not go all out for the win.
“Our last home game, it’s something that really hits hard,” she said. “I told myself I just want to play balls to the wall and go crazy. That’s my opinion about this whole game and what I was planning to do – leaving it all on the field.”
Harrison, who got the ball back the last 10 seconds and helped preserve the shutout summed it up, short and sweet.
“It was just nice to win,” she said. “It really was nice to win our last home game.”