Bulldogs Drop Season Finale To Texas A&M, 2-1

Thursday, October 27

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-12-0, 1-10-0

Texas A&M

10-7-1, 5-5-1

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Mallory Eubanks scored in defeat as MSU fell in the season finale.

Bulldogs Drop Season Finale To Texas A&M, 2-1

October 27, 2016 | Soccer

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STARKVILLE, Miss. – A courageous effort from the Mississippi State soccer team (6-12-0, 1-10-0 SEC) was not enough on Thursday night as Texas A&M (10-7-1, 5-5-1 SEC) escaped Starkville with a 2-1 win.

The Aggies scored early to earn the lead as Haley Pounds put in a rebound off her missed penalty kick to give TAMU the 1-0 advantage. The Bulldogs would adjust however, as MSU battled back and went toe-to-toe with the Aggies throughout the first half.

Right out of the halftime break the Bulldogs would respond in the 47th minute as a long kick from Ari Holmes found its way into the box for a sliding Mallory Eubanks to even the score at 1-1. The goal for the Bulldogs was the soccer program's first against the Aggies in the five-game series.

With the game knotted up at 1-1, TAMU drove down the field a minute later to retake the lead after Stephanie Malherbe found Grace Wright to put the Aggies ahead, 2-1. The Bulldogs would bring a relentless attack after the score however as MSU outshot the Aggies 13-4 in the second half. TAMU held on to dear life as the visitor's escaped Starkville with the one-goal victory.

"I'm very proud of the effort our team gave tonight," head coach Aaron Gordon said. "They've played this way all season and we fought Texas A&M for the full 90 minutes. Looking forward I think the future is bright because we have a very young team who learned a lot of lessons this season. We've had a lot of one-goal losses and that's due partly to luck and being as young as we are. We're only losing one starter from this team, so I'm excited for how this team will grow and develop over the offseason."

MSU finished the game with more shots (19-12) and shots on goal (9-6) than the Aggies, while corners were even (5-5).

One-Goal Losses
After the loss to Texas A&M, the Bulldogs finished the 2016 season with eight one-goal defeats. No. 17 Virginia Tech (1-2), Lipscomb (0-1), Vanderbilt (1-2), Missouri (1-2), No. 4 South Carolina (0-1), LSU (0-1), No. 20 Florida (0-1) and Texas A&M (2-1) make up the one-goal losses. Furthermore, the winning goal in the three ranked losses against No. 17 Virginia Tech, No. 4 South Carolina and No. 20 Florida have all come within the final 11 minutes of the game.

Goal Scoring Breakdown
TAMU – (1:59) Haley Pounds scored on the rebound after a missed penalty kick that was blocked by MSU goalie Tanya de Souza.

MSU – (47:15) Ari Holmes launched a free kick into the box for Mallory Eubanks who scored the goal on a sliding kick to knot up the score at 1-1.

TAMU – (48:29) Grace Wright put the Aggies up for good as she connected on a shot that was set up by Stephanie Malherbe.

Up Next
The Bulldogs officially concluded the 2016 regular season with Thursday night's contest against Texas A&M. The Maroon and White's next action on the soccer field will be in 2017 during the spring exhibition slate.

Additional Notes

Head coach Aaron Gordon recorded a career-high for wins in a season at six
The six wins this season are the most for MSU since 2012 (9)
The goal against Texas A&M was the Bulldogs first in the head-to-head series with the Aggies
The one-goal difference was the closest margin of defeat for MSU, the previous being a 2-0 loss in 2012
MSU outshot the Aggies for the first time in program history as the Bulldogs held a 19-12 advantage
Eight Bulldogs went the full distance on Thursday night as Tanya de Souza, McKenna de Graaf, Mallory Eubanks, Johanna Hamblett, Ari Holmes, Emily Malone, Carly Mauldin and Courtney Robicheaux earned the 90 minutes of action
The Bulldogs had three players record at least three shots (McKenna de Graaf, Mallory Eubanks, Carly Mauldin)
Attendance for the season finale was 1,077