After competing in their second consecutive significant weekend tournament, the Lady Bulldogs once again returned to Starkville without a win.
In the opening game of the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic, the Bulldogs (2-3-1) were defeated 4-1 by Southern California (3-2-0) in the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The Women of Troy struck first (20th minute) in the contest as USC’s leading scorer Rosa Anna Tantillo connected on a shot that found its way through the MSU defense to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
Just over a minute later, Tantillo struck again, this time the beneficiary of a Bulldog miscue. With the Lady Dawgs unable to clear the ball, Tantillo netted her second goal by finishing a misplayed ball with a blast to the far post.
“As the game went on, we started to relax and play some quality soccer,” head coach Neil MacDonald said. “As long as we came out of here having learned something, that’s a positive.”
Early in the second half USC stretched its lead on a goal (57th minute) by Tina Sutorius. Giving USC a three-goal cushion, Sutorius collected the game’s third goal on a one-timer sent into the box by teammate Shannon Cross.
Cross netted a goal of her own just 16 minutes later (73rd minute) as USC earned a penalty kick following a Sheri Toler foul inside the box.
State finally got on the board in the 82nd minute when Bulldog freshman Jennifer Turpin made good on an upper-90 blast following passes from Kevyn Shelledy and Toler. It was Turpin’s first career goal in Maroon and White.
“These kinds of games are always going to be learning experiences,” MacDonald said. “The scoring line is a little bit of an unfair reflection of how the game unfolded.”
The Bulldogs’ fortune wouldn’t get any better on Sunday as they fell to No. 1 North Carolina (5-0-1) to an identical score of 4-1.
The 18-time NCAA Champion Lady Tar Heels wasted no time at all grabbing the early lead in the 3rd minute when Lindsay Tarpley scored her first goal of the season off a Carolina corner kick.
State responded quickly thereafter with the game-tying goal in the 11th minute on Kristin Peterson’s first goal of the season. Her shot from the left side of the field deflected off a Carolina defender and into the back of the net.
Peterson and teammate Morgan McDonald earned all-tournament honors.
The second half was a much different story as the Lady Tar Heels exploded for three goals in the second half goals.
The first coming off the foot of Kacey White. White notched her second goal of the season (49th minute) on a 19-yard blast sent in by Heather O’Reilly.
Carolina added two more late goals by Lori Chalupny and Kendall Fletcher to complete the Tar Heel scoring.
The Bulldogs were out-shot by Carolina 26-6 in the contest.
“I thought we played very well against them,” MacDonald said. “Anytime you play North Carolina, it is comparable to playing the US National Team because of the caliber and athleticism of their entire squad.”
“I thought they did an extraordinary job against us,” legendary North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance said. “If you came and saw the first half, you would have seen a tremendous amount of passion that Mississippi State played with. For them to go into the half against us with a 1-1 tie is a huge compliment to them.”