Mississippi State soccer kept rolling last weekend with a 3-0 win at Missouri, the team’s fifth shutout of the season. The victory puts the team at No. 13 in the NCAA rankings with the sixth-best RPI in the country.
The Bulldogs, 8-1-1, are undefeated in SEC play so far, with their only hiccup being a 1-1 draw against Auburn at home. It’s a strong start to the campaign as the program looks to defend its regular-season crown. They are currently level with Georgia and South Carolina at 10 points, in second place behind league leaders Arkansas.
It was none other than Ally Perry who opened the scoring for the Bulldogs, scoring in a program-record fourth straight SEC game by launching a curling effort from the wing into the net.
It wasn’t too long before Kennedy Husbands was on the scoresheet as well with an effort from outside the box. It kickstarted another dominant road performance, the second SEC shutout win of the season, and the Bulldogs remain unbeaten in conference play.
“I’m really proud of the performance from the group tonight,” head coach Nick Zimmerman said. “All week, we challenged them to be a little more patient higher up the field and to create more quality chances. Tonight, they did a tremendous job of implementing the things we worked on in training against a very organized and tough team. It’s never easy to win on the road in the SEC, and this is a big three points.”
Husbands earned SEC Defender of the Week honors, somewhat ironically, considering she highlighted an impressive performance with a wonder goal. She struck a bouncing ball on a half-volley from around 30 yards out, sending a looping shot perfectly into the top right corner of Missouri’s goal.
The Bulldogs completed the win in the second half with a goal from Kyra Taylor, who finished a chance created by a turnover in midfield. Laila Murillo won the ball and quickly found Perry, who played a long ball into Taylor’s path to create the goal.
MSU is back home this week for a Magnolia Cup match with Ole Miss at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The cup has stayed in Starkville for five years running, with the Bulldogs winning 2-0 in Oxford last season. That contest was decided by a goal in the opening minute and another in the closing minutes of a physically demanding game, which featured 20 total fouls and five yellow-card cautions between the two teams.
While Ole Miss still holds an advantage in the all-time series, 11-15-5, the Bulldogs have made up significant ground with their winning streak. The current run also includes three straight shutout wins over Ole Miss.
Ole Miss went 0-9-1 in SEC play in 2024 and is currently 0-3-1 through four games this season.
The rivals will meet at the MSU Soccer Field on Thursday, and the match will be available to watch via stream on SEC Network+.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
