The Mississippi State soccer team kicked off its first home exhibition of the spring Wednesday night as they rallied to a 1-1 tie against the Memphis Tigers.
Memphis got on the board first midway through the first period as junior forward Yuiko Konno scored on a chip shot perfectly placed just over the hands of Bulldog keeper Emily Meyers.
Sophomore defender Heather Ammann said the defense played very well despite giving up the one goal.
“In the first two periods I think the defense played really good,” Ammann said. “The third period I think we got a little tired, but we are working on fitness a lot during the spring.”
The Bulldogs would match the Tigers and get the game tying goal late in the second period when freshman forward Heidi Ondra beat the keeper with a right-footed blast.
Fellow forward Betty Ann Casey passed Ondra a swift through ball just inside the 18 and she quickly disposed of it into the back of the net.
“Heather played a perfect cross ball and Betty played me the ball in the box,” Ondra said. “The defender missed it and the ball kept rolling and I just finished it.”
Memphis nearly captured a late victory with less than five minutes left in the contest. Konno made a quick move to beat the Bulldog defense resulting in a one on one with Meyers.
Konno sent a blast on goal only to have Meyers fall to her knees and corral the ball near post.
Head coach Neil McGuire said he was very pleased with his team’s overall performance.
“Our intensity was very good and our discipline positionally to our system was excellent and probably the best it’s been for a long time,” McGuire said. “We put a new a system in place and I think it suits or personnel very well. I think our team will continue to flourish if we have the level of intensity that we had along with the commitment to our staff.”
State will be in action again Saturday afternoon in MSU’s second annual Alumni game at 1 p.m. at the Mississippi State Soccer Field.
The game features former Bulldog soccer players taking on the current squad in an exhibition game with both teams vying for bragging rights.
Prior to the annual alumni game, the Starkville Youth Soccer Organization and the MSU soccer team will host a free soccer clinic for area youth soccer players from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The camp is open to children of all ages and will be conducted by members of the team and coaching staff.
“We are excited, as always, to be able to help to progress soccer within the community,” McGuire said. “There are a lot of people giving a lot of their personal time to help soccer grow, and we want to be a part of that.”