Mississippi State nearly completed its entire regular-season October slate — some 535 minutes — without conceding a goal.
That stretch came to an end in the 86th minute Thursday night in Fayetteville, as Bea Franklin’s seventh goal of the season was enough to lift No. 10 Arkansas to a 1-0 win over the No. 21 Bulldogs in the regular-season finale.
MSU (10-4-4, 5-3-2 Southeastern Conference) will be the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament and will take on fifth-seeded Alabama in the quarterfinals Tuesday night in Pensacola, Fla.
After they conceded three late goals in a deflating draw with Tennessee on Sept. 29, the Bulldogs found their stride, picking up ranked road wins over Kentucky and the Crimson Tide, as well as their first-ever victory at Florida and their fourth-straight win over rival Ole Miss. Senior goalkeeper Maddy Anderson was flawless throughout that entire stretch, highlighted by a six-save performance in the Alabama game.
The Razorbacks, the outright SEC regular-season champions, represented MSU’s toughest test of the season. Arkansas came in unbeaten in its last 30 home matches and had put up five goals against both Alabama and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs were right with them in the first half and most of the second before Emilee Hauser’s long ball into the box found Franklin’s forehead for the late winner.
Maggie Wadsworth, who scored both goals in MSU’s 2-0 home win over the Razorbacks last season, put two shots on target, while Macey Hodge, Haley McWhirter and Hannah Johnson each tested Arkansas goalkeeper Phoebe Carver once.
The Bulldogs completed their best conference season in program history, and a win would have given them the SEC West title. Still, MSU entered the week at No. 16 in the RPI and is in good shape to make the NCAA Tournament and potentially host a first-round match.
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