Mississippi State
1-4-0
Nicholls State
1-2-1
Four Bulldogs Score Goals In 4-0 Rout of Nicholls State
September 05, 2015 | Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Freshman Kiley Martens earned her second goal of the season in a winning effort to propel Mississippi State to a dominating 4-0 victory against Nicholls State, as the Bulldogs earned their first win of the season in front of a jubilant crowd of 718 on Friday night.
“All week we've been practicing on getting shots and being assertive,” Martens said after the win. “Before the game we were all pumped up and the mood was just so much different than other matches. We knew that we needed to change things around and tonight was evidence of that.”
The Bulldogs (1-4-0) jumped on the Colonels (1-2-1) early in the ninth minute after sophomore Kayleigh Henry headed a pass to fellow sophomore Mallory Eubanks who attacked from inside the box for the finish.
The goal for Eubanks was her first on the season, with Henry also getting into the stat column with her first assist on the year.
State didn't give the Colonels time to breathe as the Maroon and White scored again in the 16th minute of the contest. Martens would capitalize on a deflected Eubanks shot as she darted in from five yards out to score on an empty net.
The Bulldogs would hold their first halftime lead of the season, as they entered the break up 2-0.
In the 67th minute, freshman Red Bruffett would etch her name onto the stat sheet, as the Rockwall, Texas native launched a shot from the corner that hooked just over the head of the Colonel keeper, stretching the lead to 3-0.
Sophomore Payton Gruenewald would make a diving shot in front of the box off a Carly English pass in the 84th minute to put an exclamation point on the 4-0 win.
“This win was great tonight, but I thought it was overdue for us,” Coach Aaron Gordon said. “We are a completely different team from last season, in terms of players and returners who are playing in different spots. So, it's not surprising that it's taken a little bit to get going. I would have really been worried if we didn't play hard earlier in the season, but our team always plays hard we just haven't put the ball in the back of the net until tonight.”
Three Bulldogs earned their first goals of the season in Friday night's win (Eubanks, Bruffett and Gruenewald), while Henry and English earned their first assists on the year.
At goal Tanya de Souza and Rhylee DeCrane combined for the clean sheet, with de Souza getting the bulk of the minutes (73).
MSU dominated NSU in every statistical category on Friday night, as the Bulldogs led in shots (19-0), shots on goal (10-0) and corners (9-1).
The four-point margin was the largest home victory for Aaron Gordon's club since a 2013 victory over Arkansas State (4-0).
MSU returns to the home pitch on Sunday with a 6 p.m. kick against Southern Miss. The contest, like all home matches, will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app.
For more information on the Mississippi State soccer program, follow “HailStateSOC” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Mallory Eubanks (1)
Assisted By: Kayleigh Henry
Header by 15 to 7 for the goal
9:10
Kiley Martens (2)
GOAL by MSU Kiley Martens, goal number 2 for season.
16:16
Red Bruffett (1)
GOAL by MSU Red Bruffett, goal number 1 for season.
67:20
Payton Gruenewald (1)
Assisted By: Carly English
GOAL by MSU Payton Gruenewald, Assist by Carly English, goal number 1 for season.
84:57
