Cowbell Corner

Can Mississippi State recreate last year's magic and beat another No. 1 team?

The Bulldogs used last year's 1-0 win against No. 1 Arkansas on the way to a perfect SEC record. Now, No. 1 Tennessee comes to Starkville on Friday.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Centerfielder Zoe Main (#7), Mississippi State Midfielder Laila Juliette Murillo (#25) and Mississippi State Forward Kyra Taylor (#3) during the match between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the MSU Soccer Field in Starkville, MS.
Mississippi State Centerfielder Zoe Main (#7), Mississippi State Midfielder Laila Juliette Murillo (#25) and Mississippi State Forward Kyra Taylor (#3) during the match between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the MSU Soccer Field in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

There wasn’t a lot to be excited about last fall in Starkville.

The Bulldogs’ weren’t winning much on the gridiron and basketball had to yet start.

But there was one place overflowing with excitement: the MSU Soccer Field.

Rewind the calendars to last September. The Bulldogs lost just one of its non-conference games, to Wake Forest, and began SEC play ranked No. 24. They started with a 2-0 win against unranked Oklahoma, but then got a lot of people’s attention with a 1-0 win against then-No. 11 Texas.

That win sent the Bulldogs into the top 10 rankings at No. 9 and a 2-0 win against LSU moved them to No. 7.

All was going well for Mississippi State. 3-0 start in SEC games behind one of the nation’s best defenses. And then it welcomed then-No. 1 Arkansas to Starkville. Ally Perry scored the only goal and the Bulldogs held the Razorbacks just five shots in the 1-0 win.

That’s when the tenor of the Bulldogs’ season changed from “hey, they’re pretty good” to “whoa, this might be the best team in the nation.” And they proved it, going a perfect 10-0 in SEC games and ended the regular season as the No. 2 team in the country.

Returning to the present, the Bulldogs find themselves in a similar situation.

They lost only one non-conference game and beat then-No. 10 Wake Forest 2-1, avenging last season’s loss. Now, the Bulldogs get to host the No. 1 team in the nation in an SEC game.

The biggest difference, though, is Mississippi State has to play No. 1 Tennessee without the benefit of some “warmup” SEC games.

The Bulldogs begin SEC play this season at 6 p.m. Friday in match that’ll air on ESPNU.

“They're obviously a dang good team, number one in the country,” Mississippi State Nick Zimmerman said at his Wednesday availability. “They’re really well coached. They got some really good players. We expect they'll come guns blazing.”

The Volunteers’ offense will test first-year goalkeeper Sarah Womack. They’re averaging 2.71 goals per game and 7.29 shots on goal per game. As if that wasn’t enough, Womack will see one of the nation’s best keepers, Cayden Norris, in the other goal.

Last year, the Bulldogs could look toward their own goal to see the best goalkeeper on the pitch in Maddy Anderson. Now, Womack is trying to fill those gloves.

“Maddy was a great goalkeeper and I'm so happy that I've had the opportunity to fill her space,” Womack, who transferred to Mississippi State from Appalachian State, said. “It's been difficult, but coach Kat (Stratton) has been training with me so much and I've just been taking it day by day in each game. It's been a lot of fun with this team here. So, yeah, I’m really excited.”

The other Bulldogs can help Womack reach that lofty status. But, as previously mentioned, Norris is one of the best goal keepers in the nation. In six games, she hasn’t allowed a single goal and has made 18 saves.

The Volunteers’ defense, as a whole, has been great because nobody has scored a goal against Tennessee in seven games. That includes the reigning national champion, North Carolina.

“They're very good defensively,” Perry said. “They’re very organized, and I think that will be a good challenge for us to try and work in between their back line and see what we can create.”

If Mississippi State can play its style of soccer – possession heavy, lots of back passes to defenders and Womack – then there might be a second ranked team leaving Starkville with a loss in the last week.

We’ll find at a 6 p.m. Friday on ESPNU.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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