Last weekend, Mississippi State soccer head coach Neil Macdonald was blunt in his assessment of his team after back-to-back home losses, saying some players simply were not performing their roles and responsibilities during the matches.
However, after a week of productive practices getting ready for Vanderbilt and Kentucky, Macdonald said he is pleased with how his players responded to the tough words he said just five days ago.
On Monday, Macdonald said he took his team through a light workout session and walkthrough to identify issues, then watched footage from the previous match.
“We reviewed the game tape, and we talked about it from a defensive standpoint and an attacking standpoint as well,” he said. “So it was a useful session. We talked through the problems, and then [Tuesday] we’ve had a session that was tough.”
Macdonald said the one-hour session focused on competitiveness, using one-on-one matchups and fighting for the ball in the air to instruct and inspire players in their roles on the field.
“They did very well today,” he said. “The whole team were switched on and understanding what their role was and taking care of it. I was very pleased with today.”
With one more practice Wednesday going into last night’s home matchup against Vandy (7-7-2, 3-3-2 SEC), Macdonald said the team is focusing on setting daily goals to improve some aspect, and then checking them off.
“I think at this point, you’ve got to take every game as it comes, and every practice session, and focus on every day,” he said. “Not look too far ahead, and make sure that we’re ticking some boxes. For us, it’s process goals. So I think that we’re taking small steps and trying to rebuild them.”
With most college players coming from highly successful high school and club teams, dealing with not winning every game presents a challenge that many young athletes have to overcome and learn from.
“It’s very difficult when you have adversity,” he said. “A lot of these players haven’t had adversity before and they’re learning how to deal with that.”
On Sunday, the team will travel to Kentucky, whom MSU defeated last year in the Bulldogs’ home closer by a 2-0 score.
The Wildcats (8-6-2, 2-4-2 SEC) sit just on the outside of the SEC tournament bubble, ranked ninth in a league where only the top eight teams make the seeding.
Senior defender Leanna Baldner said even though MSU has had success recently against Kentucky, the team could not afford to take the match lightly.
“Last year coming in, we did win [against Kentucky], and so that’s encouraging,” she said. “You think about certain weekends, and Vanderbilt and Kentucky, you aren’t thinking this will be like a Florida-South Carolina weekend, but they’re very good teams. So you can’t expect, going in, that this is going to be easy. But hopefully, if we play to the best of our ability, putting everything into practice, and believing in ourselves, we can win.”
Baldner is one of four seniors whose MSU careers are winding down, with just Kentucky and next Friday’s season finale against Ole Miss left to go.
Macdonald has looked to her as a team leader and anchor for his back line of defenders.
Four years ago, Baldner actually came to MSU as a scoring specialist — she led her Meridian High School team in scoring every year since the seventh grade, racking up 82 goals and 60 assists over a six year career.
In club play for Mississippi United, she helped her team reach a No. 8 ranking in the nation in 2005.
Baldner said she was groomed for soccer from an early age and never grew tired of it.
“I started when I was six, and I still love it,” she said. ” I played club soccer in Jackson ever since I was 14. I would drive to Jackson three times a week and practice then drive back. My parents were really great about that. They just provided me with everything they could to help me succeed.”
Baldner said she enjoyed playing high school soccer more than club, but making the transition to college had its pitfalls.
“There are certain aspects of it that, when you get to college, change from what it used to be,” she said. “There’s more responsibility behind it, and more is asked of you than it was in high school. You’re taking in so much information and learning so much, but you’re still in high school and still that young. I think not just for me, but if you ask a lot of athletes to look back on their freshman year, they’ll be like, ‘it was a very hard adjustment.'”
However, Baldner did not just throw herself feet first into challenges on the soccer field. She was also on the SEC academic honor roll every year and finished her undergraduate degree in only three years.
She is currently attending graduate school at MSU and is preparing to switch to sports administration.
With only two games remaining in her college career, she said she is looking forward to seeing life from a different perspective.
“I’ve never worked a day in my life before,” she said. “I consider this my job. My parents have said you don’t have to work; you have your own job. So I kind of want to get a job and be normal for a little bit and do normal things. A job like working in the Sanderson or even a yogurt place.”
Baldner said having more time will allow her to give back to the community and share her faith with others.
“There are people out there that need help,” she said. “There are so many things you can do with your time, like community service, building houses, and as I’ve gone through school, I’ve seen it more and more.”
Macdonald said Baldner is the type of player every team needs.
“Leanna is a model student-athlete,” he said. “Great leader, great attitude, incredibly committed. Even when things are hard, she works through it. Incredible amount of respect for her as a person for what she’s brought to this program. She’s going to go to grad school here at State, so she’ll be here another couple years yet. She’s definitely someone who we’re really happy she’s going to stick around.”