Mississippi State is in the clubhouse now.
The Bulldogs withstood Arkansas’ relentless offensive attack as well as they could in Thursday’s SEC Tournament semifinal, the first time MSU had ever reached that stage. But the top-seeded Razorbacks struck both early and late in a 2-0 victory over the No. 4 seed Bulldogs, leaving MSU’s NCAA Tournament fate in the hands of the selection committee.
Arkansas, which defeated MSU 1-0 in Fayetteville just a week ago, opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Ava Tankersley perfectly one-timed a pass into the upper right corner of the net, and Bulldogs senior goalkeeper Maddy Anderson had no chance. Morgan White chipped one over Anderson in the 85th minute to put the game away.
The Razorbacks got off 17 shots to just seven for MSU, and had an 8-1 edge in corner kicks. Sophomore forward Maggie Wadsworth took five of the Bulldogs’ seven shots, including all three that MSU managed to put on target.
MSU (10-5-5) entered Friday at No. 23 in the latest RPI. That should be enough for the Bulldogs to host a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be revealed Monday at 3 p.m.
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