Mississippi State Soccer Tops Providence, Advances in NCAA Tournament

MSU soccer continues to impress as the Bulldogs moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Providence proved to be a tough opponent, but Mississippi State soccer advanced to the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 victory on Saturday afternoon. 

The physicality of the Lady Bulldogs proved to be too much in the closing stages of the game for the Friars. Senior Maggie Wadsworth scored the only goal of the game in the 96th minute to give the Bulldogs an overtime victory. 

With 1.088 fans in attendance, MSU put on a defensive clinic for the entire game. During the first half, it was a back-and-forth contest between the women with MSU having many chances at goal with four shot attempts prior to the break. However, State did lose a key defensive player Rylie Combs after colliding with a Providence player towards the end of the first half.

In the second half, the momentum swung in the favor of the Bulldogs. They came out in attack mode by applying lots of pressure in the middle of the field. 

Bringing up the midfielders and defenders compacted the passing lanes which allowed MSU to generate more shot opportunities and own the majority of the possessions in the half. This allowed Wadsworth to slip out and create a shot opportunity that went in. 

DAWGS LEAD!!!!

Maggie Wadsworth puts it in and we lead 1-0 in the first OT! #HailState🐶 || 📺 https://t.co/LSudjCfc8U pic.twitter.com/ATV4EEps5V

— Mississippi State Soccer (@HailStateSOC) November 11, 2023

After the success of last year's season, the sentiment around this team has been “Why not us?” This change in attitude has charged the Bulldogs throughout the season. With more experience on this roster than last year, Mississippi State will look to keep going throughout this tournament.

"I'm really proud of the mentality of the players," head coach James Armstrong said. "As a coaching staff, we've always felt that way. You've got to build it step by step. But the players kind of came in this season as well and said, 'We're tired of that underdog tag we've been labeled with for a few years now.'

"The fact the players believe that, that's the thing I'm most proud of. Coaches can say it all they want. When the players say, 'Hey, we're good. We want to do something special here.' That's when special things can happen."

Mississippi State will play Brown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a chance advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. However, the Bulldogs will have to travel to Stanford, Calif., where the next two stages in that part of the bracket will be played. 

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