MSU Falls In Knoxville To Tennessee

Thursday, October 20

Knoxville, Tenn.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-10, 1-8SEC

Tennessee

10-6-1, 5-3-1SEC

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Kennadi Carbin had five shots against Tennessee on Thursday night.

MSU Falls In Knoxville To Tennessee

October 20, 2016 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite starting out of the gate with great energy, the Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-10, 1-8-0 SEC) were defeated by the Tennessee Volunteers (10-6-1, 5-3-1 SEC) on Thursday night, 3-0.

The Maroon and White came out as the aggressive team in the first half as the Bulldogs won in shots (7-4), shots on goal (4-2) and corners (3-0), but UT was able to connect on two chances right before the break to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. On the first score, the Vols were able spin a shot just enough to catch the far post for their first goal, while the second came on a long-range bomb that found the net after nicking the crossbar.

In the second half the Bulldogs again came out assertive on the attacking end, but UT took advantage of an opportunity inside the box to extend its lead to 3-0. As the two teams battled deeper into the game, MSU would not relinquish its attacking mindset as the Bulldogs followed up their seven-shot first half with eight in the second frame. The Bulldogs had three of those shots come in the final 10 minutes as MSU fought until the end.

"I'm proud of our effort and how we played tonight," head coach Aaron Gordon said. "For whatever reason we've not been able to find the back of the net. We are creating chances, but we haven't found the luck we need to get a win. When you give the effort and play the way we did tonight, 90% of the time you win. We're going to keep our heads up and give the same effort and intensity when we take on Florida this Sunday."

The Bulldogs finished the game with more shots (15-11) and corners (5-2) than the Vols, while the two squads were even in shots on target (7-7).

Career Highs Matched For Pair Bulldogs
Sophomore Kennadi Carbin and freshman McKenna de Graaf matched career highs in shots on Thursday night as the two turned in impressive performances. Carbin earned five shots, while de Graaf had two and posted her first 90-minute game of the season.

Goal Scoring Rundown
UT – (33:13) Meghan Flynn scores on a roller to the right side after an assist from Anna Bialczak and Hannah Wilkinson to put Tennessee up, 1-0

UT – (43:50) Rylie O'Keefe scored off the cross bar from 40 yards out to extend UT's lead to 2-0 before the break

UT – (52:40) Carlyn Baldwin scored inside the box after a set up from Meghan Flynn and MacKenzie Gouner

Up Next
MSU heads south to Gainesville as the Bulldogs face No. 20 Florida on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 12 p.m. CT.

Additional Notes

Six Bulldogs went the full distance as McKenna de Graaf, Tanya de Souza, Mallory Eubanks, Johanna Hamblett, Carly Mauldin and Hannah Smith earned 90 minutes
Seven different Bulldogs recorded shots for MSU on Thursday night
Five Bulldogs earned at least one shot on target
Tanya de Souza collected four saves against the Vols
Johanna Hamblett earned her 16th start of the season, as she remains the only freshman to start every game for the Bulldogs this season