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Bulldogs Drop Road Match, 2-1, at No. 5/4 Texas A&M
Mississippi
State (9-4-1, 2-4-1 SEC) lost on two second-half goals at No. 5/4 Texas
A&M (14-1-1, 5-1-1 SEC) on Friday night. Senior Brooke McKee scored
State’s lone goal in the 2-1 loss.
Redshirt senior
Rhylee DeCrane made a season-high eight saves in the match while senior
Carly Mauldin moved into seventh all-time in career minutes at MSU
(6,146).
Despite being outshot 15-5 in the first
half, MSU kept the match scoreless. The Aggie’s appeared to score
twice, but were called offsides both times.
“In
the first half, we didn’t play well, but we didn’t really give them
much,” head coach Tom Anagnost said. “All the stuff we gave them was
shots from 30-35 yards out or self-inflicted where we don’t clear a
ball out.”
In the 60th minute, the Aggies’ Ally
Watt chased down a ball that was chipped into the box, slipping past
two defenders. She shot low and to DeCrane’s left. The Bulldog keeper
was able to get a hand on the shot, but it trickled into the net for
the first goal of the night.
The Aggie’s found the
net again in the 77th minute off a scramble in the box. DeCrane came
out to play the ball, but could not collect the rebound before Asdis
Halldorsdottir scored with an assist from Watt.
“In
the second half, we played better, statistically,” Anagnost said. “We
had the corners and the shot advantage. We had the chances. We’re so
close to being really good. I give Texas A&M credit because they’re
a great team and G (Guerrieri) and Phil (Stephenson) do a great job,
but I know individually and collectively we can get there. I’m
disappointed because I think it was an opportunity for us to take that
step.”
McKee’s goal came with 57 seconds left to
play. Following a Bulldog corner, the ball was poked free in the box.
Freshman Hailey Farrington-Bentil make a soft pass to her left where
McKee shot to get State on the board.
Texas
A&M finished the match with 26 shots, the most the Bulldogs have
allowed this season. MSU responded with 21 attempts of its own,
including six in the final three minutes.
“I’m
proud of our team because they don’t quit,” Anagnost said. “We keep
coming and coming. We had another chance right before that goal too
that didn’t go in. In the end, they made two plays in the box, and we
made one. That’s the difference in the game.”
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