Tom Anagnost and Matt Kagan helped lead the Mississippi State women’s soccer program to its highest points in the last two seasons.
In 2017, MSU won nine games and was on the cusp of returning to the Southeastern Conference tournament and making the NCAA tournament for the first time.
In 2018, the Bulldogs again won nine games and nearly broke through to secure their first SEC tournament berth since 2004. They made history, though, by earning the program’s trip to the NCAA tournament. Although that stay ended with a 1-0 loss to Lipscomb on Nov. 9 in the first round in Starkville, the program’s future looked bright with plenty of potential and talent in the freshman and sophomore classes.
Now, that promising future is a little cloudier after the news Friday that Anagnost resigned as MSU’s head coach to pursue another coaching opportunity.
Anagnost’s decision comes less than a month after Kagan, who was associate head coach at MSU, was named the new women’s soccer coach at Oregon State.
“This personal decision has been the biggest and most difficult of my life,” Anagnost said in a statement released by MSU on Friday morning. “Mississippi State is a remarkable place filled with the most wonderful people in the world. I want to personally thank (Director of Athletics) John Cohen, (Deputy Athletic Director) Jared Benko and (Senior Associate Athletic Director) Jay Logan who have always been there to serve our program. This young team has great kids who are prepared to win in the SEC. I know the next head coach here will be an incredibly fortunate person.”
Anagnost didn’t return a phone call Friday for comment.
Assistant coach Josh Rife will serve as MSU’s interim head coach. Rife, who joined the MSU staff in July 2018, owns more than a decade of coaching experience, including most recently as the associate head coach at Liberty.
Rife assumes leadership of a program that looks to have plenty of pieces in place. Eleven of the 13 freshmen listed on the 2018 roster are on the roster for the 2019 team. Four of the sophomores from the 2018 team also are on the roster, as are all four juniors, including MaKayla Waldner, one of the team’s top goal scorers.
The ability of the next coach to keep those players in Starkville will be crucial. Anagnost’s teams had success due in large part to their ability and willingness to work harder than opponents. The Bulldogs weren’t always the more skilled team, but they used their depth — particularly this season — and high pressure to force teams into mistakes and to dictate the tempo. As a result, MSU had eight shutouts thanks in part to a strong defense that included redshirt goalkeeper Rhylee DeCrane.
Soccer coaches like to say formations don’t matter, but in MSU’s case the style a new coach will bring in will matter. The Bulldogs tried to possess the ball, but they tended to play more directly and to use their pressure and hustle to win 50-50 balls and wear teams down. Freshman Zakirah McGillivary often added a splash of individual brilliance to the mix, especially when she scored the game-winning goal against then-No. 13 South Carolina in a 2-1 overtime victory. That win and a 5-2 victory at Memphis were the highlights in a schedule that ranked as the toughest in the nation. Five one-goal losses in the SEC prevented MSU from having an even better season. Those losses also showed the Bulldogs were one of the most competitive teams in arguably one of the nation’s strongest leagues.
Credit Anagnost and Kagan for instilling a new attitude in the program. They also deserve praise for attracting and identifying talent — like McGillivary, Monigo Karnley, and Hailey Farrington-Bentil — to come to Starkville.
Time is now of the essence. It remains to be seen how many players MSU will bring in for the 2019 season. While nearly all of the other SEC teams announced some or all of their additions for the 2019 campaign, MSU hasn’t. The departure of two coaches at a critical juncture jeopardizes MSU’s ability to fill its recruiting needs for the next few classes. That is even more critical in women’s soccer, where recruiting has extended several years in advance as programs try to gain an advantage.
Anagnost and Kagan showed you can win at MSU. For many years, that point was debatable. The Bulldogs seemed to have pieces in place but never could get over the proverbial hump. The construction of the MSU Soccer Clubhouse at the MSU Soccer Field has helped complete the facility. Strong home crowds have added to the home-field edge the Bulldogs enjoy on most nights.
Cohen said Friday in the statement that a national search to replace Anagnost already has started. That process likely will take place this week in Chicago, the site of the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
Cohen has a lot to sell. Vic Schaefer has shown the school’s women’s basketball team can compete for championships. Anagnost and Kagan proved MSU also can compete with the nation’s best in women’s soccer. In both instances, MSU has supported those programs — and every other one — in their development. The challenge for Cohen will be to find someone with the energy and drive to help keep MSU women’s soccer at its current level and to push it even higher.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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