Tigers take advantage of late match chance to beat Bulldogs

It wasn’t going to be easy for the No. 22 Auburn Tigers to leave Starkville with a soccer victory on Thursday night.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs battled Auburn right down to the wire before being edged by the visitors 1-0 in Southeastern Conference action at the MSU Soccer Field.

After battling to a scoreless tie at halftime, the Tigers broke through with a goal at the 5:52 mark of the second half which proved to be the difference.

It was one of the best efforts of the season for the Bulldogs, where they played well defensively, but just couldn’t get enough offense to pull off an upset.

“We went toe to toe with a really good Auburn team,” MSU head coach James Armstrong said. “They are dynamic moving forward and they’ve got a lot of fantastic attacking players. I thought we did a really good job of executing the game plan.

“I thought we could have come out a little bit in the second half with a little bit more energy. They got a little second wind and we were holding on a little bit.”

Auburn made good with

late match opportunity

its when Sydney Richards found the back of the net on an assist by Olivia Candelino and Anna Haddock.

For the rest of the match, the Bulldogs held the Tigers to just two shots.

“Our effort was unbelievable,” MSU goal keeper Maddy Anderson said. “We came out so strong and were working so hard. It just unfortunate that it didn’t go out way.”

The Bulldogs (3-5-3 overall, 1-2-1 SEC) won’t have to wait long to get back on the field when they make the short trip to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday. That match begins at 1 p.m.