Perfect weather on Thursday evening set the stage for the Mississippi State University Bulldogs to host the Kentucky Wildcats. Coming off of matches against LSU, Georgia and Florida, the MSU Women’s soccer team found themselves 0-2-1 in the midst of a long stretch of conference games. Both teams were searching for their first SEC win of the season here in Starkville.
MSU attacked early in the game, scoring on a corner kick to the top right corner in the ninth minute. Alyssa D’Aloise, a senior from Dallas, Texas, earned her first career goal in a Bulldog uniform.
“That was Alyssa’s first goal that she has worked really hard for, it served as a momentum booster,” Coach Armstrong said.
Prior to the game there was a large effort both on social media and in person to pack the student section. There was an addition to the west end of the field, new bleachers for students.
After scoring the Bulldogs’ only goal for the night, D’Aloise spoke on what it is like to have such a packed student section.
“Oh my gosh. I have never experienced something like that in my entire life, the last time I felt something like that was high school at a state championship game,” D’Aloise said.
The men of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity showed up and showed out in support for women’s soccer. They lined the entire west end and behind the goal area. They led the chants, including the famous Maroon-White cheer that was heard all throughout the stadium.
“Those guys behind the net on the west end were here from the start of warmups, and they were loud from the start to the end of the game,” D’Aloise said. “That totally impacts our game.”
Griffin Bramer, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, took to Instagram. He posted a picture of the fraternity alongside the soccer team captioned, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.”
The second half of the game was all a battle for the Bulldogs and wildcats. MSU struggled to please the referees, totaling six yellow cards by the end of the game.
MSU clung to their one goal lead, however, earning their first SEC victory. The home win is good for three points looking into qualifying for SEC tournament play at the end of the season.
“It always means more,” Coach Armstrong said, spinning the famous SEC slogan to describe the feeling of what conference wins are like for his team.
Women’s soccer will face Auburn in their next match on October 7th and look to earn more points towards their SEC total, and a shot at postseason play.
