Mississippi State
3-11-0 (0-7-0SEC)
Vanderbilt
6-8-1 (1-5-1SEC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soccer's Valiant Effort Falls Short Against Vanderbilt
October 17, 2014 | Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A valiant effort came up short Friday night for the Mississippi State soccer team. A late Simone Charley goal proved the difference as Vanderbilt escaped with a 1-0 win Friday night.
Charley headed home the winner in the 78th minute, putting the Lydia Simmons shot just past the out-stretched hands of MSU freshman goalie Rhylee DeCrane.
DeCrane kept the Bulldogs within striking distance, making three of her seven saves the final 12 minutes. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, they were never able to find the equalizer and fell to 3-11, 0-7 in conference action.
The win improved Vandy to 6-8-1 overall, 1-5-1 in SEC play.
“Both teams were looking for a win tonight. When you're sitting on the bottom of the conference you're trying to get at each other and both teams did,” MSU coach Aaron Gordon said. “It was a competitive game with chances at both ends. It was a pretty complete performance for us, and it was a good performance considering we had some players like Khalyn Harmon who got their first real minutes.”
The Commodores claimed a 19-9 advantage in shots, but the on-goal chances were much closer, with the Bulldogs trailing 8-7.
Moments before Charley's winner, the Bulldogs nearly had the opening strike off the foot of freshman Kayleigh Henry, who drew her first start in an attacking midfield role.
With 12 minutes to play, Henry found an opening on the left wing and hit a shot toward the upper shelf that Vanderbilt goalie Christiana Ogunsami managed to redirect just high of the crossbar.
Henry's attempt followed a Jainudeen header earlier in the half that Ogunsami managed to drop down and corral.
Ogunsami matched DeCrane with seven saves in the contest.
“We got into them a little bit. I'm not pleased with the loss, but I was pleased with the performance,” Gordon said. “We created some good chances and defended probably better than we have all year. We blocked shots, ran people down and got good goalkeeping. All the way around I thought we were pretty solid back there.”The teams combined for nine attempts on frame in the second half after tallying three chances each in a scoreless first half.
The Bulldogs tried to break through in the second minute in the second-straight match, but McKenzie Adams' attempt from distance was unable to get past Ogunsami.
DeCrane delivered a dangerous free kick minutes later, but Ogunsami made the leaping save.
After Ogunsami denied Payton Gruenewald, the Commodores found their best opportunity of the half off a corner kick. Charley headed the Simmons service, but DeCrane was able to tip the ball off the bar and keep it from crossing the goal line.
State returns to the home pitch Sunday, hosting No. 8 Texas A&M in the team's annual “Kick For A Cure” match. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on SEC Network +.
Team Stats
Simone Charley (5)
Assisted By: Lydia Simmons
headed off corner
77:59
