STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s soccer has quite the international flair for a collegiate soccer program.
Not one, but two players play internationally for their home countries: Ruthny Mathurin of Haiti and Ilana Izquierdo of Colombia.
Both entered the program this season as transfers, two pieces from the Sun Belt Conference, but of the two, Izquierdo, the 2021 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, has already brought the fun of the ‘Fun Belt’ to Starkville.
“She’s been phenomenal,” head coach James Armstrong said. “You talk about a player that comes in who’s professional in everything she does: How she eats, how she sleeps, how she trains, how she studies, how she manages her time. … She’s the fittest player we’ve had here at Mississippi State, so she raises the bar there.”
The transfer portal has been a massive success in the early going for Mississippi State (4-1-1), with six of its nine goals on the season coming from transfer pieces.
Izquierdo has two of them as her breakout party came in the Bulldogs’ 2-0 win over FIU on Aug. 27.
Heading into that match, the 3-0 Panthers were among the five best goal-scoring teams in the country, scoring 17 and conceding none.
Not only did the Bulldogs shut out FIU in that match, but Izquierdo recorded a brace, scoring twice and matching her goal total from last season.
“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.”
Earning two-straight all-conference selections at Southern Miss, Izquierdo proved herself to be one of the best mid-major midfielders in the country, but she wanted a change of pace.
That change of pace came when she announced her transfer to Mississippi State, doing so in the spring so she was able to be part of the abbreviated spring season.
From the jump, Armstrong and the coaching staff knew her worth to the program and knew just how much of a difference-maker she could be on the team.
“From a tactical understanding of the game on both sides of the ball, she’s phenomenal,” Armstrong said. “She’s not the biggest, but she has the biggest heart, she can cover the most amount of ground and she understands how to play her game and not get drawn into playing someone else’s game.”
Her work rate in the midfield rivals just about anyone on the team and might rival anyone in the Southeastern Conference at this point in the season.
Having that international experience with Colombia goes a long way, too, and while she didn’t make the 2023 Women’s World Cup roster in July, she’s made multiple appearances on the senior national team and will look to break through there in the future.
For now, she’s carving out her own legacy with the Bulldogs, one that she hopes will result in more SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament appearances and many, many more goals.
“We’re going to keep doing things right,” Izquierdo said. “We’re going to keep improving our details and we’re going to make sure we’re ready for our next game.”
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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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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