STARKVILLE — The greatest season in Mississippi State soccer history came to an end Sunday. The Southeastern Conference regular season champions tasted defeat for the first time in Starkville after a remarkable run of 12 games without even conceding a goal in Starkville.
Every team wants to win the last game of the season, but only one team can. Still, what is known globally as the beautiful game was introduced to a greater audience because of what the Bulldogs achieved in 2024.
It was an emotional scene after the game.
Fifth-year senior Macey Hodge showcased her strength even as she struggled to find the words to describe what this team, this place, and this experience meant to her after giving up on her first scholarship offer from Vanderbilt five years ago.
“I gave up on life, truly, at 18 years old,” Hodge said through tears in the post-game press conference. “I never thought I’d be anything other than a girl who stayed in a small town, and I’d be 30 saying what could have been. Truly, this program changed my life. I wouldn’t be who I am as a person, I found myself and who I was here, with these girls on the soccer field. To be in the position I am, I’ll be forever grateful.”
Both Hodge and senior goalkeeper Maddy Anderson fought back tears as they faced a press room with their emotions on their sleeve. Next to them was their head coach, James Armstrong, who will continue building what 11 seniors helped him construct, a winning program with championship aspirations.
“Macey, Maddy and all of the other seniors, they talk about the impact that this program has had on them,” Armstrong said in his post-game presser, “but they also need to remember the impact they’ve had on this program. It’s a privilege and an honor and these two young ladies are a perfect example of why we do what we do.”
MSU Soccer had one NCAA tournament appearance before Armstrong arrived. This year they reached the tournament for the third year in a row, reaching the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
I watched most games from the hill in a lawn chair, talking tactics with friends from Starkville’s soccer circle. Former teammates from my childhood and friends from the Columbus Adult League, all regulars who have watched MSU play for years now.
This year, however, that group of lawn chairs grew with nearly every game. A few hundred came to the first games, then about 1,000 for Tennessee Tech. The opening SEC game saw that number go up to 1,411, and then to 2,617 for No. 1 Arkansas.
That win, which helped put MSU on the map and in control of the SEC standings, seemed to be a peak for the season, but it didn’t stop. More and more came each week until the NCAA Round of 32 topped out at 4,022 fans.
Starkville was overcome with soccer fever.
Each game there was less room to park a lawn chair and even less room up in the press box.
The 2024 MSU women’s soccer team did that. They didn’t just do it by winning games, they did it by winning their way.
The Bulldogs built upon the foundation of their defensive identity and evolved into a proactive and prolific counter-pressing team that aimed to dictate the flow of play. They defended as a team and did their best to cover every blade of grass, suffocating opposing teams, but they also had players who could score and create at every position. They recorded 16 shutouts with the second-best goals-against average in the country.
It was not a flukey run to the top, in fact, it was years in the making with a core group of players Armstrong recruited in his first year as head coach.
The season ended in heartache as the Bulldogs rightly had aspirations of winning the national championship, but that doesn’t diminish what they did.
Because of what they did, there is a sign at MSU’s soccer field that will always read “2024 SEC Champions.”
Thousands of Starkvillains and Bulldog faithful witnessed the perfect 10-0 conference season and a perfect regular season home record. The top five program attendances occurred this season because the Bulldogs played the beautiful game in a beautiful way and made Starkville a soccer town.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
