Mississippi State
12-2-1, 5-1-1SEC
#17 Georgia
6-8-1, 2-4-1SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense Propels Mississippi State To 1-0 Win Over #17 Georgia
October 19, 2007 | Soccer
ATHENS, Ga. ? Mississippi State (6-8-1, 2-4-1 Southeastern Conference) battled for its biggest win of the season on Friday night, defeating 17th-ranked Georgia (12-2-1, 5-1-1 SEC), 1-0, at the UGA Soccer Field in Athens. With nine shots on the evening, the lone shot on goal came from sophomore Katelyn Graben at 80:59. The goal was unassisted and the Gulfport, Miss.-native's fourth of the season.
The win snapped MState's 13 game road losing streak and marked the first home and conference loss for Georgia this season.
"I thought we battled for 90 minutes tonight," said MState Head Coach Neil Macdonald. "Our back four played outstanding. To beat the top team in the conference on their home field is huge and really shows the character these girls have."
In goal for MSU, sophomore Taryn Holland posted her third shutout of the year and second in SEC play. State had an opportunity to score earlier in the second period when Ashley Hood's shot missed the net by mere inches. Holland's superb play was highlighted by a save just seconds after hitting the ground following a collision at the net.
Homestanding Georgia had 16 attempts to find the net during the opening period, but a strong MState defense and eight saves from Holland thwarted Georgia's scoring chances.
State managed four shot opportunities during the half, the first coming from senior Treena Ferguson. The Ontario, Canada-native's shot at the 40-minute mark went just wide of the goal.
Later in the period, sophomore Ashlee Drake, earning her first start of the season, Ferguson and junior Bethany Frazier each had chances to score for MState but all three shots went wide.
Georgia had plenty of scoring opportunities on the evening with 26 shots and eight corner kicks compared to MState's nine shots. MSU had no corner kick tries on the evening. Of the 26 UGA shots, only nine were on goal.
State continues its road trip on Sunday, facing 11th-ranked Tennessee in a 1 p.m. CT contest from Knoxville.
Team Stats
Katelyn Graben (4)
GOAL by MSU Katelyn Graben (FIRST GOAL), goal number 4 for season.
80:59
