Bulldogs look to move to 6-0
A program-record three members of the Mississippi State soccer program earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region honors.
Catalina Perez, Mallory Eubanks and MaKayla Waldner all earned All-Southeast Region accolades by the organization previously known as National Soccer Coaches Association of America. They are also the first Bulldogs to be named all-Southeast region.
Perez earned the program's first first-team honor to go along with her All-SEC first team selection at the goalkeeper spot. With the honor, the Boca Raton, Fla., native adds to her stellar senior campaign that also saw her take SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 10 (Oct. 23). The Colombian National Team member also cemented herself as one of the best goalkeepers in program history with a goals allowed average of 1.00 in 2017, which is second in MSU soccer history. Her six shutouts earned is also third-best in the program record books for clean sheets in a single season.
Eubanks also added to her illustrious Bulldog career by being tabbed to the second team as a midfielder. The Lexington, Ky., product became the program's first SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in addition to earning second team All-SEC honors for the second straight year. The senior led the Bulldogs in assists (six) while moving into second place in the school record books in that category with 17 career assists.
Waldner rounded out the list of Bulldogs as a
Mississippi State has a chance to do something today that it hasn't done in 14 years.
The Bulldogs (5-0) will look to win the first six games of a season for the first time since 2003-04 when they host North Dakota State (3-3) at 6 p.m.
“Winning (the first five games) is a big confidence booster, but at the end of the day, we're thinking about the long run,” MSU forward Aric Holman said.
The reasons for the hot start for the Bulldogs are many. Freshman Abdul Ado is leading the Southeastern Conference with 3.3 blocks per game this season. Freshman Nick Weatherspoon is starting to put together a strong debut season. His 12-points-per-game average is currently tied for sixth-best in school history for a freshman.
It's the defense that has really spearheaded MSU however. Though the Bulldogs have struggled offensively at times, particularly from 3-point range where the team is shooting just barely over 26 percent, MSU leads the SEC in blocked shots (7.6 per game) and field goal percentage defense (.359).
“We know that we haven't been making a lot of shots this year, so defense is the reason we've been winning games,” State head coach Ben Howland said. third-team selection at forward. The Dexter, Mo., native led the Bulldogs in goals scored with nine, which ranks sixth in program history for goals scored in a season. The sophomore was a major player in the Bulldogs' scoring uptick this fall, helping State tally 32 goals in 2017—the most since 2001.
With Perez, Eubanks and Waldner being selected, State now has seven total all-region selections all-time.
David McFatrich resigned as Mississippi State's volleyball head coach on Wednesday, Director of Athletics John Cohen announced.
"We appreciate everything that David has done for Mississippi State volleyball in his three years," Cohen said. “We wish David and his family all the best in their future endeavors.”
McFatrich's teams compiled a 41-56 record in three seasons, including a 13-41 mark in Southeastern Conference play. In 2017, the Bulldogs were 10-23 overall and 1-17 in league play.
MSU will begin a national search immediately for a new volleyball coach.
In other volleyball news earlier in the day, Kanani Price was selected to the 2017 Southeastern Conference Community Service Team.
Price has been leading the Bulldogs all year in hours with giving back to the Mississippi community.
The Fairmount, Ind., native has spent her time in Jackson for the Jackson Extravaganza and Hospital Visit. During her time there, Price played board games and interacted with hospitalized children. She
The defense of the Bulldogs will hope to continue limiting the opposition today. North Dakota State's two biggest threats are guards Paul Miller and Tyson Ward. Both average 13.8 points per game for the Bison. Guard Cameron Hunter is also averaging in double figures with 12.4 per game.
“They're a really good team,” Howland said of North Dakota State. “They had USC beat at USC in the second game of the season with about 4 minutes to go. They ended up losing the game, but they had them beaten.
“They're extremely patient. They really shoot it. They play very good man-to-man defense.”
It's unknown if MSU will be back at full strength as the Bulldogs battle the Bison. MSU sophomore guard Lamar Peters has missed the last two games due to a team discipline issue.
Howland said on Tuesday that it remains to be seen when Peters will get back on the floor.
In the meantime, MSU will try to keep on winning with or without Peters. The plan for the Bulldogs to do so is simply to adhere to the old cliche that the biggest game is just the next game.
“We're just going to take it a game at the time,” Holman said. has also worked with Operation Gratitude, which is a letter-writing program for deployed servicemen.
Price has also made an impact as a member of MSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, where she works with other MSU athletes to better the student-athlete experience on and off the court. The defensive specialist has also helped move in the incoming freshman class this past August.
Price is currently working toward a degree in Animal and Dairy Sciences.
More national award watch lists were announced Wednesday, and No. 3 Mississippi State was well-represented.
Victoria Vivians, Morgan William and Teaira McCowan were each named to the 2018 Citizen Naismith Player of the Year Trophy watch list Wednesday morning. Later that day, Vivians and William were tabbed to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's 25-player watch list for the Wade Trophy, the oldest national player of the year award in college women's basketball.
State is one of four programs with two or more players on the Wade Trophy watch list. State's three selections to the Naismith Trophy watch list is tied for third-most of the teams represented.
Vivians has been off to a stellar start to her senior campaign, rating sixth in the Southeastern Conference with 18.8 points per game. The Carthage native has tallied that average behind 53.2 percent shooting from the field and a 40.6 percent clip from 3-point range.
The Preseason All-SEC selection was named the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division MVP after tallying 19 points per game and matching her season average with 5.0 rebounds per contest.
Last week, Vivians passed Tan White for second at MSU in career 3-pointers made with 225. She is the SEC's active leader in career scoring with an 1,867-point total that is third among current NCAA Division I players.
A Preseason All-SEC selection, William has been one of the nation's best at distributing the basketball this season, rating second in the SEC and 31st nationally with 6.2 assists per game. The Bulldogs' senior point guard has also protected the rock, topping the country with a 9.3 assist/turnover ratio.
The Birmingham, Ala., native has dished 517 assists in her career, a total that is third nationally and tops in the SEC among current players. Not only does she own the Bulldogs' career assists record, but she also tops the program and ranks ninth in SEC annals in free-throw percentage (84.3 percent).
McCowan has developed into one of the nation's top centers, averaging 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest to go with a two blocks average.
The Brenham, Texas, native was chosen to the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in the three wins. That honor came after she was named SEC Player of the Week for an 18-point, 10-rebound effort against Southern Miss and a 19-point showing against Georgia State.