As the fall sports at Mississippi State University begin to rack up the wins, the Soccer team is not to be forgotten about. With new Head Coach Nick Zimmerman, their season is heading in the right direction.

The 2024 season did not disappoint as the Bulldogs ended with a 19-3 record and 10-0 in the SEC. As impressive as that is, it is a hard record to beat. Zimmerman is not a new face at State, as he has been on the staff since 2019, but this will be his first year in the big shoes.

MSU Soccer is currently 5-1 with their only loss being against Baylor, a Big 12 team. State remains unranked going into week 4 of play, but achieved a huge win against No.10 Wake Forest on Aug. 24.

This win, the biggest win of the season so far, was secured by Ally Perry, who hit the back of the net during a penalty kick. The win against Wake Forest made Zimmerman the third Mississippi State head coach to win the first game against a ranked opponent of his career.

The Bulldogs dominated Wake Forest with a 2-1 win, but then lost to unranked Baylor four nights later.

The final score against Baylor was 0-2 and marked their first season loss. The team did not take this loss lightly, as they turned around and racked up two more wins in their games against Oklahoma State on Aug.31 and Louisiana Tech on Sep. 4.

The Bulldogs’ most recent game was against South Alabama, where they ended the game with a 4-2 score.

Mississippi State will begin conference play against No. 2 Tennessee on Sept. 12, and fans are eager to see how they will perform against competition in the Southeastern Conference.

Being a team in the SEC, you are expected to win your non-conference games, which is what State has been doing aside from WF. With conference play approaching, State must continue on the path they are on to be able to compete with fellow conference teams.

Zimmerman has full trust in his team, as he has said after every game, and that the match against WF was a great learning opportunity. State has a relatively small roster, with only 25 girls, but the SEC max is 28. This was a new rule put into place for the 2025-26 season by the NCAA. In recent years, most rosters would have over 30 girls, but State stuck to a lower number.

Although there are not as many girls on the roster at MSU compared to other schools, it allows the coaches to focus more on how individual players assist the team, instead of the team assisting individuals.

As SEC play approaches, however, it leaves fans wondering how the Bulldogs will react against their fellow conference teams.

First up is Tennessee, the No.2 ranked team. State will face UT on Sep. 12, and the Vols are currently 5-0-1, with their 0-0 tie being against Memphis. Tennessee is a dominant team to play against, but from recent performances, it feels as if the Bulldogs are ready for that challenge.

The Dawgs will then match up with Texas followed by Auburn and Missouri to end out the month. Both Auburn and Missouri are also unranked, giving State the chance to have an SEC upset. It seems as if the tables are begin to turn here in Starkvegas.

The Volleyball team is 6-0, Football is 2-0, and Soccer is 5-1. With Mississippi State being so supportive and connected within Athletics, there is no doubt that the winning momentum will cover all of MSU.

Dawgs must eat, and that is exactly what MSU Soccer will be doing if they continue to show up and show out the way they have been.