STARKVILLE — In what is becoming a regular occurrence, Mississippi State will host a high-stakes soccer match on Friday while celebrating the 30th anniversary of women’s soccer on campus. The Bulldogs will start Southeastern Conference play against the current top-ranked team in the country in Tennessee on Friday, making it two years in a row that MSU will host the No. 1 team in the country in conference play.
Head coach Nick Zimmerman has seen a positive start from his group in the 2025 campaign, going 5-1 through six nonconference games, including a 2-1 win over No. 10 Wake Forest and a difficult road trip into Big 12 country. A 2-0 loss to Baylor serves as the only defeat so far on his watch, and even that was an experience the Bulldogs have been able to learn from.
“Every team poses different challenges, and that was the beauty of nonconference,” Zimmerman said. “We’re two games less because of one cancellation, and we were trying to get a game that fell through at the last minute, but for nonconference next year, it’s got some good teams. We want to play against really good teams, all six games posed different challenges. We used it as an opportunity to figure out things, but also play against good teams that kept giving us different looks.”
The Vols entered the week ranked No. 1 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll after starting the season undefeated through seven games. At 6-0-1, the Vols’ only blemish is a 0-0 draw against Memphis, and defensively the team remains perfect, having conceded no goals in the regular season.
“I think them being ranked No. 1 reminds me of last year a lot,” captain Ally Perry said. “The energy with the fans, how we prepared for it is similar, and I’m excited for the energy of it all. I see it as a challenge, I want us to be one of the only teams that can beat them, and see it as an exciting thing for us to do.”
The Vols hype began on the first night of the season when Tennessee took down the defending national champions, North Carolina, 2-0 in Knoxville. As Perry noted, the matchup bears resemblance to the arrival of No. 1-ranked Arkansas last year, which brought out a record crowd to the MSU Soccer Field as the Bulldogs won, 1-0. The Vols are another high-flying team that overwhelms opponents and offers a similar challenge for the Bulldogs in terms of buildup play.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs were practicing building possession through a high press, something that has always been a part of the team’s identity, but could be that much more important to do on Friday against the top-ranked team in the country.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to learn and grow,” Zimmerman said of the matchup. “They’re obviously a dang good team, No. 1 in the country, really well coached. They’ve got some really good players, and we expect they’ll come guns blazing. It’s just for us to understand how to navigate certain scenarios and ultimately, how we feel like we can have success when they send the house in.”
Also at stake on the night is a 16-game unbeaten run at home dating back to September 21, 2023. However, the Bulldogs have not had much luck against the Vols in the past. A 2024 SEC Tournament win over the Vols was the program’s first win against Tennessee in 18 years. On a night when the Bulldogs honor the past, they will have an opportunity to demonstrate the team’s progress during that time, as well.
The Bulldogs and Volunteers will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday at the MSU Soccer Field in Starkville. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
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