Mississippi State
1-5-1, 0-1SEC
Vanderbilt
4-3, 1-0SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Vanderbilt | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Bulldogs Drop Hard-Fought Match To Vanderbilt 2-1
September 12, 2015 | Soccer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Freshman Kiley Martens scored her team-leading third goal of the year, as Mississippi State fell to Vanderbilt 2-1 in a tightly-contested match that saw both teams turn up the intensity for southeastern conference play.
“Our level of effort and competiveness was fantastic tonight,” head coach Aaron Gordon said. “The fact that we had 18 shots and out played the other team just comes down to the same thing all year which is that we have to convert chances. We had three unbelievable looks in tonight's game. Vanderbilt came out and played tough for the SEC opener. The game was fast-paced, athletic game.”
Vandy (4-3-0) opened the action up in the third minute of Friday night's game, as sophomore Lydia Simmons scored from the right wing to put the Commodores ahead 1-0.
The lead would not last long as MSU (1-5-1) would respond minutes later with a rebound score from Martens in the seventh minute.
Martens' goal came after a Mallory Eubanks' shot that was saved but mishandled by the Commodore keeper, which allowed Martens to pounce on the chance for the three-yard score.
“Kiley Martens has found a way to be around the goal all year long for us,” Gordon said. “I thought we responded quickly after getting put on our heels and we needed that goal. ”
The two teams would go into the break with a 1-1 score, but the clear story of the half was the outstanding play of sophomore Tanya de Souza between the posts.”
“When we got off to a slow start Tanya helped us stay in the game,” Gordon said. “The effort she showed tonight is why we brought here to Mississippi State. She stood on her head and had one of the best performances that I've ever seen back there.”
De Souza turned in the best performance of her Bulldog career, after stopping a career-high 10 shots on goal. The French native made eight of her 10 saves in the first half.
The Commodores would score quickly out of the gate to begin the half, with goal-leader Simone Charley hooking a shot into the net to go ahead for good in the 46th minute.
On the stat sheet, MSU led in corners (5-3), with Vandy holding a narrow margin in shots (19-18) and shots on goal (12-5) on the night.
The Maroon and White returns to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a non-conference tilt at Lipscomb.
For more information on the Mississippi State soccer program, follow “HailStateSOC” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Lydia Simmons (2)
shot from right wing outside of box sent
3:37
Kiley Martens (3)
tapped in shot on rebound after initial
7:37
Simone Charley (3)
Assisted By: Jamie Kator
tap into the top right corner from eight
46:42
