STARKVILLE — Brooke McKee didn’t have time to signal to the sideline for direction.
The Mississippi State junior forward also wasn’t able to communicate with teammate Mallory Eubanks before she moved to the far flag to take a corner kick.
As Eubanks positioned her kick on the white half circle, McKee recognized Missouri State was playing this corner kick like nearly all of the previous ones, so she read the defense and made her move.
McKee’s quick thinking paid dividends, as she headed home Eubanks’ corner kick into the upper right corner to lift MSU to a 2-1 victory at the MSU Soccer Field.
“I just made my run wider and looked for the ball more instead of running in early,” McKee said. “I just happened to hit it right.”
McKee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in October. The transfer from Troy, who was coached by current MSU associate head coach Jason Hamilton at the school, started 14 of 15 matches last season. She tied for the team lead with four goals. She also led the Trojans in shots (46) and shots on goal (18) and had two game-winning goals.
McKee came off the bench Friday night in a 1-0 victory against Stephen F. Austin. She earned the start Sunday as the Bulldogs used seven players off the bench in an attempt to weather the effects of the 90-plus degree temperatures. MSU appeared to receive a jolt from a hustle play by sophomore MaKayla Waldner prior to McKee’s game-winner. Waldner pressured the Missouri State defense in an otherwise ordinary situation where it would have time to regain possession and try to run out the clock in regulation. Instead, Waldner, who scored the game-winning goal against SFA, pressured the ball and created a possible scoring chance for MSU. Shortly thereafter, the Bulldogs were in position for the corner kick that sent them to 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2012.
McKee said the Bulldogs didn’t change the way they took the corner kick that resulted in the game-winner. She said the Bears stayed in a zone and “weren’t really moving,” so she knew if she timed her run and sprinted to the ball her momentum would help her get a good touch on the ball. It turns out McKee was able to get more than a good touch, as she solidly connected on a header that beat goalkeeper Kaitlin Maxwell. She credited Eubanks, a senior, for delivering the corner kick with her trademark accuracy.
“We work on corner kicks every day. We spend the final 15 minutes of practice working on set pieces,” McKee said. “Mallory is awesome.”
MSU first-year head coach Tom Anagnost said the Bulldogs work on “pulling out” on corner kicks in training, so he wasn’t surprised to see McKee make the adjustment. He liked what he saw from McKee in the second half Friday night, and he said she has to get more consistent to see even more playing time.
The goal helped MSU bounce back after Rachel Catrell scored in the 61st minute to tie the game. A goal by freshman A.K. Ward in the 56th minute — on the team’s first shot — gave MSU a 1-0 lead.
Ward took a throw-in from Khalyn Harmon on the right wing to get the scoring started. The play nearly didn’t happen, as Harmon appeared to want to make the throw-in from well behind the line and didn’t. She then stumbled as she approached the sideline and rushed to dump off a throw-in to Ward. The freshman midfielder, who assisted on Waldner’s goal Friday night, kept the defender on her right hip, which freed her left foot for a shot. She hit the ball solidly and found the upper left corner.
“I was looking to shoot,” said Ward, who is right-foot dominant but said she works equally on shooting with both feet. “I think I just turned and was like, ‘All right, let’s hit it.’ The defender wasn’t too tight on it, so I felt I had enough space to be able to turn if I could turn quick enough and hit it.
“I was just shooting. If it hit off somebody, I knew my team was right there to put it back in.”
MSU had an 11-4 edge in shots, but Eubanks, who had six shots Friday, and Waldner, who had five, didn’t have any shots even though they had stretches where they were dangerous in the attacking third or they were able to create scoring situations.
Anagnost credited his team’s resilience for coming back after Missouri State (0-2) tied the match. He said he was proud to see the Bulldogs’ work on set pieces in training pay off, especially for McKee, who continues to work her way back approaching the one-year anniversary of her ACL injury.
“Brooke made the most of the opportunity,” Anagnost said. “She has showed signs of being really good.”
MSU will take on Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday in Ruston, Louisiana. It will play host Central Arkansas at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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