The Mississippi State soccer team will begin conference play on the road tonight against Auburn on a swing that will continue through Tuscaloosa on Sunday.
The Bulldogs (7-2) will take on the Tigers (6-2), seeking revenge for last year’s loss in Starkville, which halted Mississippi State’s best ever start at 8-0.
Both teams recently competed far out of their comfort zone, as MSU traveled to Oklahoma, a state in which it has never played, last weekend to compete against No. 13 Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts.
The Bulldogs held OSU to a 1-0 advantage in the first half on a deflection off a defender but broke down in the second half, losing to the Cowgirls 6-0. On Sunday afternoon, MSU turned their fortunes around, winning a 1-0 battle on a goal by veteran striker Kat Walsh who was returning from an injury. The goal was her first of the season and moved her into fourth place in the school record books with ten.
Auburn, on its best start since 2006, traveled to California for a weekend tournament, losing to USC 1-0 and rebounding against Cal State Fullerton 2-0. The loss to the Trojans knocked the Tigers out of the national rankings, but Auburn still received votes.
Still, Bulldog head coach Neil Macdonald said Auburn was a dangerous team to play on the road in the SEC. The Tigers have an impressive 102-42-11 overall record in homes games.
“Any time you’re on the road in the SEC it’s tough,” he said. “But Auburn are a really class ball club. So they’ll present us with a lot of problems and we’ll have to be smart how we play them, and come up with a real tactical game plan.”
On Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs complete the Alabama leg of the road swing in Tuscaloosa, taking on the Crimson Tide (5-2). MSU will try to atone for a 1-0 loss last year in Starkville, in which it more than doubled the shots output of the Tide but were unable to punch any in the net.
In its most recent matchup against Texas Tech, Alabama continued its trend of being outshot by its opponent and relying on sneaking one goal in the net for a low-scoring, defensive-minded affair. Macdonald said he would use a different strategy against Alabama than with previous teams.
“Our game plan for Alabama will be slightly different, and I think both these teams, Alabama and ourselves, match up very well,” he said. “So it will be a real battle for us, but something that hopefully our girls are prepared for at this point.”
MSU returns all but three players from last season’s lineup, and has added more scoring threats to its roster, such as freshman forward Elisabeth Sullivan, who already has nine points on three goals and assists. Another freshman standout is defender Morganne Grimes, who holds the back line with seniors Leanna Baldner and Danielle Kite.
Grimes has logged more minutes than any Bulldog this season, and said she was excited to become a starter.
“That was one of my goals coming in, to try to get on the starting lineup,” she said. “And playing on the back line with [Dani and Leanna], both of them work so hard and push me to work harder, and I just want to do good for them.”
Senior forward Kat Walsh said the new players brought a fresh edge to MSU.
“They add such a dynamic to our team,” she said. “We have a lot more depth and a lot more creativity in certain areas that we didn’t have before.”
Walsh said traveling to Oklahoma State and playing out of MSUs comfort zone was something the team really needed going into SEC play.
“We had quite a few wins that I feel like we kind of slid through, and that was a really good way for us [to improve],” she said. “It was fast-paced. It was intense. It really pushed us past the limits, and that’s really what we need for SEC.”