CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mississippi State soccer secured its third win of the season on Thursday night, winning 2-0 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the first road game of the season. This marks the first time since 2018 that the Bulldogs have started a season 3-0-0, and the first time since 1996 that the team has not allowed a goal through the first three matches of the season.
The game came as the first of a two-leg trip to North Carolina with a match at Wake Forest waiting on Sunday.
The match began with Charlotte (0-3-0) on the front foot in the first couple of minutes, but it didn’t take long for the MSU defense and midfield to get a handle on things. Ally Perry and Rylie Combs both had early chances to score, with the latter striking a shot against the post in the 16th minute.
The Bulldogs struck in the first half through freshman forward Kennedy Husbands, who pounced at the near post to control the ball and strike it past the goalkeeper after a corner from Ilana Izquierdo. She had plenty of work to do with the finish but showed her skill by turning the cross into the opening goal.
The Bulldogs kept up the pressure and Husbands seemed motivated to create more chances by running at the defense. One such run led to a foul after running past a defender and being dragged down from behind. A look at the video review monitor was enough for the referee to see the foul had occurred inside the 18-yard box and a penalty was awarded.
Izquierdo took the spot kick for the Bulldogs but saw her effort bounce off the upright and out of bounds.
The second half saw the Bulldogs get the second goal that they deserved, but it wasn’t from any of the chances they created. Maggie Wadsworth pounced on a wayward pass across the Charlotte back line and calmly finished a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper to double the lead in the 59th minute.
MSU goalkeeper Maddy Anderson again spent most of her time keeping the defense organized but was called into action late to keep the lead intact. She made just her second save of the season on a near-post strike. It may have struck the post or side-netting, but Anderson wasn’t taking any chances.
On the ensuing corner, Anderson punched a cross away, and that was the last of the danger the Bulldogs would face as they wrapped up a third-straight win to start the season.
The Bulldogs now travel to Winston-Salem for a matchup with Wake Forest (2-0-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Demon Deacons are fresh off of a home win on Thursday, defeating Temple 4-0 in their second win of the season.
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