Ward, McKee Goals Lift Bulldogs To Sunday Victory

Sunday, August 20

Starkville

1:00 PM

Mississippi State

2-0-0

Missouri State

0-2-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Missouri State	0	1	1
Mississippi State	0	2	2

Brooke McKee's game-winning header in the 82nd minute lifted State to a 2-1 win against Missouri State

Ward, McKee Goals Lift Bulldogs To Sunday Victory

August 20, 2017 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO | AK Ward and Brooke McKee

STARKVILLE, Miss. – On a very hot and muggy Sunday afternoon at the MSU Soccer Field, Mississippi State persevered to defeat Missouri State.

"I'd like to give a lot of credit to Missouri State because I thought they did a good job of staying in the game early and making it difficult for us," MSU coach Tom Anagnost said.

The Bulldogs (2-0) got goals from A.K. Ward and Brooke McKee to take the 2-1 decision from the visiting Bears (0-2).

"I was definitely pleased with the resilience," Anagnost said. "These Sunday games test every fiber of your being. I thought we exerted ourselves more and showed more of the want, care and desire to win the game."

Both sides displayed stingy defense in the first half, limiting one another's chances. All three goals were scored in the second half.

State struck first on a goal by freshman A.K. Ward—her first as a Bulldog—in the 56th minute.

"It was just really exciting," Ward said. "When there are such good players around me, you can expect something like that. Having someone so good on the outside like MaKayla (Waldner) to hit it right to your feet. They were going to double-team Mallory (Eubanks) so I had the ability to turn and hit the ball."

The Bears knotted it up five minutes later on a goal by Rachel Catrell assisted by Jordan Eickelman.

The Bulldogs' game-winner came on a corner kick by Mallory Eubanks that allowed Brooke McKee to score her first MSU goal on a header in the 82nd minute.

"It was really exciting," McKee said of her goal. "I just knew the ball was coming and there wasn't anybody on me so I just jumped as high as I could to get to it. I'm just excited for our team."

Over the two matches this weekend, 10 of MSU's 12 newcomers saw action. Catalina Perez worked all 90 minutes in the net for her second win of the year.

Up Next For The Bulldogs

State will next travel to Ruston, La., to take on Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. The Lady Techsters (1-0-1) opened up the 2017 season with a 1-0 win against McNeese State and a double-overtime draw against Texas State.

The Bulldogs will then return home to host Central Arkansas on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m., where it will be International Students' Day and free pizza will be served to international students along with free ice cream for fans in attendance.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."