MS State knocks off No. 16 Bama in strong second half

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – In a season filled with “firsts” for the Bulldogs, Sunday night presented an opportunity to do what no team had been successful in doing in over two seasons…beat Alabama on their home pitch. The Crimson Tide had not felt the disdain of defeat in Tuscaloosa since September 9th, 2021, when they fell to the then-ranked #6 Horned Frogs of TCU. Since then, Bama had secured 28 straight results at home, including a stretch of 22 straight wins. Sunday night, State stormed into the Alabama Soccer Complex, disregarding that some of the best programs in the sport had the door closed on their respective hopes of triumph in the venue. The Bulldogs (10-3-4, 5-2-2 SEC) instead took it to the Tide (10-4-4, 4-4-1 SEC), dominating the second half to shut out Alabama 2-nill, spoiling senior night for the squad who reached the College Cup a season ago.

The first half presented the physical nature of the contest in full display for those in attendance and those watching at home. It was a scoreless affair in the first 45 minutes with both sides gaining momentum in getting the ball into the attacking third, however, a 0-0 deadlock was the only thing to show for it as both squads headed to the locker room. In the first half, Bama led in shots 5-2 and was able to string together a stretch of three consecutive corner kicks which the Dawgs effectively turned away each time.

State intensified their pressure on Alabama in the second half before finally breaking through. State continued to attack and looked like they had nowhere to go on Alabama’s defense, however, a string of one-touch passes allowed Hannah Johnson to find Ilana Izquierdo who sent in a beautiful pass to Aitana Martinez-Montoya for a strike to put the Dawgs up 1-nill. The play was absolutely beautiful and was the culmination of everything State had been trying to do on the offensive end throughout the match.

In the 72nd minute, State delivered the dagger that sealed the fate of Alabama’s home unbeaten streak. Maggie Wadsworth executed a remarkable breakaway, employing a skillful juke move that left Crimson Tide’s center back, Sasha Pickard, in her wake. Wadsworth capitalized on the golden chance she had crafted for herself with precision. Over the course of the last two seasons, finding a way past Pickard had been an extremely rare feat. Nevertheless, on this particular Sunday, Wadsworth managed to do just that to put State up 2-nill.

State’s defense has been outstanding throughout the season, however, the last five matches for State have been unbelievable on the defensive end. Sunday marked the Bulldog’s fifth consecutive shutout, one shy of the program record. Maddy Anderson now has the most shutouts in the SEC this season with nine (11 including combined shutouts). Anderson is third in save percentage (.831) and goals allowed average (0.60) as well as fourth in saves (49).

The Bulldogs have enjoyed a successful October so far and one that has been historic for State. The month began with a road trip to Gainesville where MSU captured their first win in the Swamp in program history, 1-0. Three days later, State captured the Magnolia Cup from Ole Miss for the fourth-straight season in front of the second-largest crowd in program history. After a week off, the Bulldogs returned to the pitch for a matchup in Lexington with the unbeaten and then ranked 18th Kentucky Wildcats. State secured yet another win and captured their second win over a top-20 opponent on the road, 2-0. MSU was then named the NCAA Women’s Soccer Team of the Week following their win in Lexington. Thursday’s 0-0 draw with Vanderbilt kept the Bulldogs unbeaten before defeating No. 16 Alabama on the road to move to 4-0-1 in October.

This win cannot be understated in terms of importance in the history of the Mississippi State Soccer program as a whole. With the 2-0 win at No. 16 Bama, State has now won back-to-back matches versus ranked opponents for the first time. The win also marks the third win over a ranked opponent on the road in program history with the second coming just a week ago at Kentucky, 2-0. The Bulldogs now carry a six-game SEC unbeaten streak into the final game of the regular season which is the longest in program history.

Mississippi State will conclude the regular season on Thursday at Arkansas. The matchup will be streamed via SEC Network + and is slated for a 6:30 PM kick.