Among the crowd of maroon and white fans that rushed the field following Friday night’s emotionally and physically draining contest between the Mississippi State and Ole Miss soccer teams, a new chapter in MSU soccer history was written. The Bulldogs, who came into Friday’s game fighting adversity all season, emerged from the crowd for the first time in school history with an SEC Western Division crown.
The Lady Bulldogs share the SEC Western Division crown with Auburn, who finished their season Friday night with an overtime win over Alabama, 2-1. With the win, MSU will be the No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Louisiana State University this week.
Jessi Moore’s shot with 13 ticks remaining in the second sudden-death overtime slipped past Ole Miss senior goalkeeper Melinda Smith as the MSU Lady Bulldogs edged the Ole Miss Lady Rebels, 2-1 Friday evening in Oxford.
“Tonight’s (Friday) victory is a momentous win for our soccer program,” Neil McGuire, MSU head coach, said. “Our players have believed in themselves and one another since the first day of preseason and set the goal of maximizing their potential. Tonight (Friday), they came one step closer to achieving that and deserve this success.”
After the Bulldogs’ goal late in overtime, the team and the crowd rushed the field with flashes filling the night sky of this momentous win. Teammates embracing each other for the job well-done was the rule across the field. Cries of joy and happiness filled the air. Some players sang Queen’s hit “We are the Champions.” However, most players enjoyed the moment of being crowned Co-SEC Western Division Champions.
The game drew out a record crowd performance with close to 1,800 fans watching. It was believed by many that the crowd was the largest ever to watch a soccer game in the state of Mississippi.
Close to 500 MSU fans made the trip to Oxford from all over the state and nation to support the Lady Bulldogs to victory.
MSU came out scoring in the first half when Brie Wallace one-timed the ball to the flanks to Kristin Peterson, who found a streaking Van Zandt across the middle for the header goal from two yards away. The goal was scored just 10 minutes into the match.
MSU and Ole Miss exchanged offensive and defensive battles throughout the match. During the next 28 minutes after the goal, MSU took advantage of a defensive breakdown by Ole Miss and nearly scored on many occassions. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead into halftime despite being out-shot 6-3.
Ole Miss came knocking in the second half with a goal 17 minutes into the half. Anna Sanders found an open space in front of the MSU net and fired a shot past the Bulldog goalie, Krystal Werges in the 63rd minute.
The Bulldogs out-shot the Rebels 6-1 in the final overtime period, including three in the first four minutes of the period. With 13 seconds remaining, Amy Van Zandt found Moore wide open in front of the Rebel nets, and Moore carefully but gracefully ended the match with the golden goal.