STARKVILLE — What a week for Mississippi State women’s soccer.
Coming off a brutal 3-3 draw against Tennessee where the Bulldogs led 3-0 with less than 20 minutes left to play, Mississippi State needed a jolt for the remainder of Southeastern Conference play.
A program-first win over Florida in Gainesville started it, leaving an in-state rivalry match against Ole Miss on Sunday to finish it up.
While it wasn’t pretty, the Bulldogs converted on a first-half penalty and held on for a 1-0 win, ending the week in style as they retained the Magnolia Cup for a fourth-straight season.
“When you play your local rivals, it’s not always the prettiest of games,” Mississippi State head coach James Armstrong said. “You just want to get that trophy again. It’s our fourth year in a row, so we’re really proud of that. … Complete team performance tonight. I thought the bench was unbelievable. The crowd was unbelievable. This is one we will absolutely enjoy.”
What a better time to get two wins in conference play than this week for Mississippi State (8-3-3, 3-2-1 SEC), who dominated in most all facets of Sunday’s game despite the 1-0 scoreline.
The Bulldogs out-shot the Rebels, 13-9, and 4-2 in shots on goal, and were much more disciplined as Ole Miss had more than double the fouls of Mississippi State in the match, including four yellow cards.
Ole Miss dominated in corners, 10-4, but those corners were wasted opportunities, compared to what Mississippi State was able to do in the final third of the field.
“We keep growing,” junior Ilana Izquierdo said. “Every game is different, but we keep grinding and making things better. We’re making our mistakes our biggest strength so we can work on them and get better every time.”
Izquierdo’s goal in the 35th minute proved to be the game-winner. Teammate Maggie Wadsworth won the penalty, trying to make something happen inside the box when she was fouled by Ole Miss’s Lauren Mongtomery.
Up stepped the Colombian midfielder, looking for her fourth goal of the season, and she put it past Rebs keeper Addie Yelton to take a lead before the half.
“I was kind of nervous, I’m not going to lie, but I was happy to get the opportunity to take the ‘PK’ and I was even happier when it went in,” Izquierdo said.
It sent a crowd of more than 1,500 fans at MSU Soccer Field – the second largest crowd in program history – into a frenzy.
Fan support for Mississippi State women’s soccer has grown tremendously over the past two seasons, which has drawn the three largest crowds in program history since the start of the 2022 season.
Another record crowd was icing on the cake for what has to be the Bulldogs’ best week of the season so far.
“To pick up six points against two really good teams and win the Magnolia Cup the fourth time in a row, can’t be better than that,” Armstrong said.
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