Sullivan, Ten Broeke Combine To Lead Bulldogs Past Jackson State
STARKVILLE,
Miss. – Elisabeth Sullivan and Annebel ten Broeke accounted for all
four of Mississippi State’s goals Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs
wrapped the non-conference slate and the Bulldog Classic with a 4-2 win
against Jackson State. Sullivan recorded the first hat trick since 2001 and added another assist to finish with a school second-most seven points. “It
was fun to get back out here and play again after a tough game on
Friday,” Sullivan said. “Honestly, Annebel did all the work. I was just
there to hit it in. We are all so excited for the win today. It gives
us momentum going into SEC play on Friday.” Ten Broeke
assisted all three of Sullivan’s goals while adding her third of the
season for a five-point tally that tied for sixth-most by a Bulldog. Like Sullivan, the Amsterdam, Netherlands, native’s three assists were the most since 2001 and tied for second-most in a game. “I
think we had a great effort today as a team. We came back from the loss
Friday, and that takes a lot of mental effort,” ten Broeke said. “Sully
is a great player, and every time I play a ball to her, I know she’s
going to make something of it. That happened three times today, but
it’s always fun to make a goal myself also.” Ten Broeke
was one of eight freshman starters for a Bulldog squad that improved to
3-4 overall heading into the SEC opener against Missouri Friday at the
MSU Soccer Field. Jackson State fell to 0-7-1. “We talked
about needing to have good things happen today in terms of getting
prepared for conference play to start,” Aaron Gordon said. “We needed
some positive things to happen, and Sullivan scoring, Annebel providing
service and our team competing was good to see.” Sullivan and ten Broeke were tabbed to the Bulldog Classic All-Tournament Team along with sophomore defender Addie Tomlin. Sullivan
and ten Broeke first connected 15 minutes in to give the Bulldogs a 1-0
lead. Starkville native Tiffany Huddleston collected her first Bulldog
point as she served a ball into the box to ten Broeke, who flicked it
on to Sullivan for the shot past Jackson State goalie Kylie Christian. “Anytime
those two can pass to each other in the final third of the field, good
things are going to happen. It was great to get a win and score some
goals. More importantly, it was good eight freshmen started today.
Usually I wouldn’t say that’s great, but we got a lot of valuable
experience that we needed with our team being as ravaged by injuries as
it has,” Gordon said. “We needed people to step up, and our freshmen
got some opportunities today and made the most of it.” Ten
Broeke found Sullivan again two minutes later as she had a ball deflect
off Christian, who had six saves, to Sullivan for the rebound that put
State in front 2-0. The duo combined again in the 30th
minute to put the Bulldogs in front 3-0. This time, though, it was
Sullivan taking a serve from Chelsi Bender and flicking it forward to
ten Broeke, who made a move past Christian and tapped it home. Jackson
State got a goal back with seven seconds left before halftime. The
Tigers worked into the Bulldog final third, and Kimberlie Hernandez
sent a cross into the box that deflected off MSU goalie Meara Johnson’s
hands and trickled into the net. Johnson stopped a pair of shots in her first-career start. Sullivan
completed the hat trick four minutes into the second half. Ten Broeke
took a pass from fellow rookie Savannah Boswell and found Sullivan with
a ball over the top for a strike to the near post. For Boswell, the assist was her first-career point in her first start as a Bulldog. Jackson
State added a final goal in the 79th minute as Sie’Yara Wells took a
failed clearance from MSU and sent a one-timer into the top shelf. State out-shot the Tigers 15-10, but held a decisive 10-4 advantage in on-goal chances. Furman and Southern Miss were declared co-champions of the tournament after playing to a 1-1 draw in the opener.
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