STARKVILLE — Heading into Mississippi State’s Sunday night match against FIU, all eyes were on the Panthers junior midfielder Nikole Solis, the nation’s leading scorer.

The Panthers had showcased offensive firepower through their first three matches, scoring 17 goals without conceding one, and Solis led the way, scoring six of those goals.

A tough Bulldog defense, however, held Solis and the Panthers in check, blanking FIU, 2-0, as Solis finished the 90 minutes without a shot recorded.

“I thought our defense today was great,” head coach James Armstrong said. “Our defense had to be really strong today and I thought everyone who played in the back four were tremendous. I think midfield defending was great too.”

The first half finished scoreless, with both teams tied with two shots on goal though Mississippi State (3-0-1) led with seven total shots.

The Bulldogs also had the best chance of the half as freshman Zoe Main rocketed a shot from outside the box that hit the crossbar. 

Mississippi State changed formations in the second half, looking to apply more pressure on FIU’s third of the field, and it worked to perfection as Southern Miss junior transfer Ilana Izquierdo opened the scoring in the 62nd minute. Izquierdo would add another goal in the 82nd minute.

“I’m really happy right now for me and for the team,” Izquierdo said. “We worked hard and we deserved to win. It was a really good win, especially being at home.”

Bulldog forwards used some fancy football and immaculate touches to set up the first scoring opportunity, and sophomore Maggie Wadsworth threaded a beautiful through ball into the box for Izquierdo to slot home, her first goal for Mississippi State.

Wadsworth was on the assisting end of both goals for the Bulldogs.

“In the first half, we were trying to play it over the top more, but it wasn’t really working,” Wadsworth said. “At half, we had a talk about playing through the middle more and I think that when we’re controlling on the ground, we’re one of the best teams.”

Izquierdo’s  second goal was much more chaotic, a result of a redirected shot that fell in front of her and an empty net to double the lead.

FIU, who came in averaging more than four goals per match, was held scoreless as the Bulldogs came out firing in the second half, out-shooting the Panthers, 13-1, finishing with 20 total shots and nine shots on goal, three times more than FIU in the match.

As was the case in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Northwestern State, the defense stood tall and the offense created numerous chances in the box.

That’s been the formula of success so far for Mississippi State, now riding a four-match unbeaten streak to begin the season. The Bulldogs host Iowa and Miami later this week.

“Well coached, tough, physical, blue collar,” Armstrong said. “They’ll get after it. They have some good attacking players. We’re going to have to look at the film and have some good training sessions before we play a very good Iowa team.”