Sullivan, Baldner Score as Bulldogs Fall to LSU

Sunday, October 17

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

7-10-0 (0-8-0SEC)

LSU

6-6-4 (3-2-3SEC)

LSU

Mississippi State

Sullivan, Baldner Score as Bulldogs Fall to LSU

October 17, 2010 | Soccer

Box Score

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State's Elisabeth Sullivan and Leanna Baldner scored goals Sunday afternoon as the Bulldog soccer team fell 6-2 to LSU at the MSU Soccer Field.

LSU (6-6-4, 3-2-3 SEC) claimed an early 1-0 lead on a Courtney Alexander 4th-minute strike, but Mississippi State (7-10, 0-8 SEC) rallied and scored the equalizer in the 23rd minute.

Senior Kat Walsh worked the middle of the field and found Sullivan with a pass between LSU defenders. The Memphis, Tenn., native out-raced the Tigers and fired a shot past LSU goalkeeper Megan Kinneman to tie the match at 1-1.

“Elisabeth has really been a bright spot for us this season. She has a great attitude and works hard. She really has the ability to get behind the defense, and when she gets those chances she finishes,” MSU head coach Neil Macdonald said.

Sullivan's goal was her fifth of the season, tying her with Joanna Smith (1996) for the seventh-most by a Bulldog freshman. Sullivan, the nation's 29th-ranked freshman by TopDrawerSoccer.com, also matched Smith for seventh in points with 14

State was unable to take the tie to halftime as Nina Anderson crossed a pass to Reyna Lubin for the winner with a minute left in the half.

LSU out-shot the Dawgs 30-10, and both teams managed to put half of their attempts on target. Sophomore Skylar Rosson stopped nine saves in the match, giving her 99 for the season.

LSU's Taryne Boudreau increased the lead to 3-1 with a 64th-minute strike, and Lubin added her second goal of the afternoon at the 67:52 mark to give the Tigers a 4-1 advantage.

Carlie Banks and Danielle Murphy scored to put LSU up 6-1, but Baldner added a late score, her first of the season, to complete the afternoon's scoring.

Sophomore Katy Hoover lined a free kick just outside the 5-yard box, and Baldner, a Meridian, Miss., native, hit a perfectly-placed header past Kinneman.

“Katy served a nice ball to Leanna, and she put a really nice header into the goal,” Macdonald said.

The Bulldogs close the current five-match homestand with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Vanderbilt on Thurs., Oct. 21. State travels to Kentucky next Sunday before returning home to close the season with in-state rival Ole Miss at 7 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 29.