STARKVILLE — Mississippi State soccer looked down and out going into the final third of the match against Auburn on Sunday. The Bulldogs conceded a goal just before the hour mark on a sloppy defensive play, allowing the Tigers a second and third opportunity following an initial chance, and the ball was in the back of the net.
As Auburn forward Olivia Woodson wheeled away with her hands to her ears, taunting the crowd whose cowbells fell silent, the Bulldogs gathered in a huddle in front of the goal.
“Principles,” Ally Perry said of the team talk after conceding. “The goal happened because of the second phase, and that’s just overall effort. I was demanding effort to do the principles to do our job, and keep a good attitude. If we do that, we’ll be fine, and we responded in a great way. I’m proud of each and every person on the team for how they responded and didn’t let up.”
It took nearly all of the remaining 32 minutes, but the Bulldogs rediscovered the principles that make them a fearsome team to play against. The team found passing lanes through the middle, getting the ball to playmakers such as Perry, Adia Symmonds and Alivia Buxton. They won set pieces and found space to fire shots on goal, which they had only done twice through the first hour of play.
Eventually, just as they did nine days earlier, the ball was at the feet of Perry on the edge of the box. Her favored left foot wasn’t an option, but she fired away with her right and could have convinced anyone that it was her strong side. The ball found the bottom corner of the net, and the Bulldogs were level at 1-1.
“It was obvious they were targeting me the whole game,” Perry said. “That’s what we thought was going to happen, so I was just waiting for the right time to come. We just need one or two good moments, that’s what our coaches say. I wasn’t going to be able to get it off with my left, I knew that, so I saw the opening, one of my few, and I took it. That’s what the coaches asked for, one good opportunity, and I’m glad I was in the position to give that to us.”
MSU wasn’t able to find a winning goal, settling for a draw after Laila Murillo’s late chance was saved, but once again the Bulldogs proved they’re never down and out until the final whistle blows.
“I thought the adjustments we made throughout the game, and then how we finished, is a testament to the players and their ability to adjust on the fly,” head coach Nick Zimmerman said.. “We created some really good chances, scored a great goal, and then pushed for the winner at the end. Really proud of the resilience from the group and also we use every game as an opportunity to get better and grow, and tonight was another step in the right direction.”
The team and staff knew Auburn would be prepared. Former MSU head coach James Armstrong and assistant Drago Ceranic made a name for themselves in Starkville in part because of their defensive gameplanning. The Tigers frustrated the Bulldogs in the middle and kept them wide, but the individual brilliance of Perry, the team’s resilience and the creativity in midfield helped them overcome stout resistance in the end.
“They set up pretty much how we thought they were going to,” Zimmerman said of Auburn, “it was more of us not executing at the level we wanted to. We made some adjustments in the second half to create space for certain players. Like I said, credit to the group, they really implement the things that we work on in training, and to be able to adjust in what we call a ‘Spicy, hot game,’ a lot of emotions, I’m really proud of them.”
Perry’s heroics were the headline of the match again, nine days on from her game-winning brace against No. 1 Tennessee. Her play says everything about her confidence at the moment, but it also speaks to her growth as a leader that she has been able to fuel the team and set the tone late in the game. She recognized that it took the entire group shaking off a poor performance to get something from the game, and her chance may not have come if not for that focus to get forward and force the issue.
“It started with our defense,” she said. “Once they calmed down and were passing the ball around, moving their defenders, that opened up gaps in space for the midpoints, for me and Adia, Laila and Buxton to check into, which creates a rhythm and play through them. We were able to get a rhythm rather than when we were just kicking it, so we took a deep breath to calm down and actually played. That’s when we were finding success.”
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