Mississippi State
(3-5-2, 1-1-1SEC>
Tennessee
(5-1-4, 1-1-1SEC>
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | OT 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bulldogs Earn Scoreless Draw With Volunteers
September 26, 2015 | Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With a raucous 1,053 fans packing the stands on a cool fall night, Mississippi State (3-5-2, 1-1-1 SEC) earned a scoreless draw with Tennessee (5-1-4, 1-1-1) to keep momentum building for the month of September.
“I told the players to not be upset about this performance, because they played a good team to a draw tonight,” MSU coach Aaron Gordon said. “We came out and fought a tough team, they have some great wins on their resume. As young as we are, results matter and a tie is just like money in the bank.”
The Bulldogs cashed in big time against Arkansas last Sunday, defeating the Razorbacks 2-1 for the first time in Fayetteville. On Friday night, the Bulldog faithful were out in full force to support their club. MSU fed off that early energy to lead UT in shots 7-1 at halftime, to become the aggressor for the opening period.
The second half would see both clubs exchange blows, but each goalie batted away the opposing team's attack. At the end of regulation UT would have its best scoring opportunity of the night, as Ariel Kupritz would take a stab at the goal.
With time ticking down, sophomore Tanya de Souza fell on Kupritz's shot with only one second remaining on the clock to send both clubs to overtime.
“That worried me at the end,” Gordon said with a laugh. “I was doing the math in my head and thought there was no way Tennessee could get a shot off, but they did. I was nervous, but Tanya came up clutch.”
De Souza made another great save in the final moments of the second overtime to finish the game with three saves and preserve the Bulldog-Volunteer draw.
UT edged out MSU in shots (14-13), while the Bulldogs won out in shots on goal (7-3) and corners (12-4).
SEC Offensive Player of the Week Mallory Eubanks led the Bulldogs with four shots, with freshman Kiley Martens leading in shots on goal with three.
“After tonight it will be tough to turn around and play another tough SEC opponent in Missouri, but that's part of this league,” Gordon said. “We have to regenerate and take the rest we can get by being at home and sleeping in our own beds.
Missouri will travel to Starkville after a huge 3-1 win against No. 9 Kentucky, with the Tigers and Bulldogs meeting at 1 p.m., at the MSU Soccer Field.
For more information on the Mississippi State soccer program, follow “HailStateSOC” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
