STARKVILLE — Haley McWhirter knew the cross would be right where she wanted it.
Mississippi State’s junior midfielder was making a run up the left side of the pitch in the 89th minute of a scoreless match against Auburn on Friday night. Junior forward Aitana Martinez-Montoya had just shaken free of a defender on a counterattack, and she slotted a pass perfectly between two defenders.
McWhirter sprinted forward to get onto the end of it and one-timed a left-footed shot into the net, lifting the Bulldogs to a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Tigers to open Southeastern Conference play.
“We fought really hard throughout the game and we deserved the goal,” McWhirter said. “We were just so close, and it came in the last two minutes. I saw the ball go forward and I knew Aitana was going to cross that ball to me. I knew I had to be there, and I was there.”
MSU (6-1-2, 1-0-0 SEC) had chances aplenty to go in front earlier, getting off 16 shots to just five for Auburn (4-3-2, 0-1-0) and earning nine corner kicks to the Tigers’ two.
The Bulldogs’ best opportunity in the first half came just after the 30-minute mark, when senior forward Macey Hodge got her head on a corner and put it on target, but Auburn goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska tipped it over the bar. On the resulting corner, Hodge got a chance with her foot but sent the ball straight to Prohaska.
“The biggest thing was we were creating chances,” head coach James Armstrong said. “We’ve got lots of players who can put the ball in the back of the net.”
MSU came out aggressive early in the second half, with McWhirter putting a shot on goal off of a free kick and the Bulldogs earning three corners in the first 10 minutes after the break. Prohaska, who made seven saves on the night, kept the hosts off the board, while on the other end, senior Maddy Anderson made four saves in the shutout for MSU.
On McWhirter’s goal, though, Prohaska had no chance as the ball rifled past her on its way to the far side of the net. McWhirter was second on the team with seven goals last season, but Friday’s winner was her first of 2023.
Coming off a season in which MSU tied a program record with 12 wins and recorded its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, the Bulldogs extended their unbeaten streak to four with the triumph. MSU is next in action at home against Texas A&M on Thursday.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. Hopefully we’re not peaking right now,” Armstrong said. “We’ve got to tighten everything up. We’ve got to get the ball down a little earlier and play our style. We’ve also got to be able to run in behind at times; our movement could have been a little bit better. But overall, that’s what coaching is all about. We’ve got a great group of young ladies who come every day and work hard.”
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