With SEC Tournament seedings and state bragging rights on the line, the MSU women’s soccer team (9-8-3, 5-5-1 SEC) downed Mississippi (8-9-2, 4-5-2 SEC) 1-0 Friday night at the Mississippi State Soccer Field.
In the first half, Mississippi out-shot the Bulldogs 9-8, but neither club could sneak one past the keeper, squandering an array of scoring chances.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, State finally capitalized on a scoring chance.
Bulldog defender Heather Ammann played a ball to Meghan Odom at the top of the Mississippi box where Odom found Sara Moore near post for the game-winning score.
Moore’s goal was her fourth goal of the season, all of which have come in the game-winning fashion. Her four game-winning goals this season ties a school-record.
“We felt that, athletically, we could match up with them playing their system, and we did it in every area of the field,” head coach Neil MacDonald said. “Ole Miss is a very talented soccer team, but when you take the time they have on the ball away from them with high pressure, you can cause some problems for them.”
With the 1-0 win over Mississippi, the Bulldogs will now represent the Western Division in the SEC Tournament as the No. 5 overall seed and will face No. 4 Vanderbilt on Thursday in Auburn at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31
In the final game of the 2004 regular season, the Bulldogs walked away with a 2-1 over Georgia State (7-7-5) Sunday afternoon at the Mississippi State Soccer Field.
The Bulldogs wasted little time in cracking the scoreboard as senior Kristin Peterson connected on a one-timer near post (sixth minute) inside the Georgia State box, giving the Bulldogs the early 1-0 advantage.
Midway through the first half, Georgia State countered with the game-tying goal (33rd minute) off the feet of Sarah Feske.
Panther defender Veronica Botold served a ball to the far post where Feske made good on her shot beating Bulldog keeper Emily Meyers to tie the score at 1 at intermission.
In her final home contest as a Bulldog, senior midfielder April Berry fittingly broke the tie just over 10 minutes into the second half.
Berry corralled a deflected pass from Moore and managed to dribble through a pair of Panther defenders before hitting a shot past a diving Charlotte Vargo.
“We knew we really had to play with a lot of emotion after coming off a hard game on Friday night,” Berry said. “I just got the ball in front of the goal and put it in.”
The Panthers got their chances down the stretch, but the Bulldogs used a strong defensive effort capped by Meyer’s five second-half saves to preserve the one-goal win.
“I thought we came out really flat and we played at a level below us the entire game,” MacDonald said. “I was pleased with the result, but concerned with some of the decisions we made in the game.”
Meyers’ performance garnered her Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week Honors.