A Program-Defining Player: Meredith Riekert
October 18, 2019 | Soccer, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – The first to accomplish a number of feats, Meredith Riekert's name is littered throughout the Mississippi State record book. The face of the soccer program for its first four years of existence didn't see her final record fall until this year when MaKayla Waldner surpassed her nine career game-winning goals.
A decorated high school athlete, Riekert won four state championships with her club team and played in three regional championship matches before arriving in Starkville. In 1995, she quickly took the lead on State's newest roster in the Bulldogs' inaugural season.
Riekert led State's offense with seven goals and 15 points while starting all 17 matches as a freshman. She recorded the first hat trick in MSU history in a 6-0 win against Montevallo on Oct. 15, 1995. The Bulldogs won the Lady Jaguar Invitational to close their season, and Riekert earned MVP honors. She went on to land Second Team All-SEC honors after losing out in a tiebreaker for the final First Team spot.
The midfielder from Plano, Texas posted one of nine 20-point seasons in school history as a sophomore while serving as team captain. She was especially crucial to the team's success late in the season, scoring the game-winner in four of State's final six wins on the year.
As a junior she drove home eight goals while collecting 22 points, making her one of three players in program history with consecutive 20-point seasons. She added two more game-winning goals, bringing her career total to eight. Riekert picked up at least one point in 11 of the 20 matches she started and earned Second Team All-SEC honors for the second time.
At the start of her senior campaign, Riekert was described as "the program's defining student-athlete in the first three seasons." By that time, she was the only player to have started every match in the Bulldogs' history. Though she would start just 18 of 20 games as a senior, she left MSU as the only player to have played every match in the program's history.
Riekert entered her final season as the career leader in goals (21), assists (15), points (57) shots (165) and game-winning goals. She added one goal in 1998. Her career points, goals and assists records would stand until 2002. Her shots record was broken in 2013 by Elisabeth Sullivan who would go on to also claim the goals and points records. Riekert's 72 starts stood as the gold standard until 2004.
Today, she is third all-time in points, tied for third in both goals and assists and second in shots and game-winning goals.
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
STARKVILLE – The first to accomplish a number of feats, Meredith Riekert's name is littered throughout the Mississippi State record book. The face of the soccer program for its first four years of existence didn't see her final record fall until this year when MaKayla Waldner surpassed her nine career game-winning goals.
A decorated high school athlete, Riekert won four state championships with her club team and played in three regional championship matches before arriving in Starkville. In 1995, she quickly took the lead on State's newest roster in the Bulldogs' inaugural season.
Riekert led State's offense with seven goals and 15 points while starting all 17 matches as a freshman. She recorded the first hat trick in MSU history in a 6-0 win against Montevallo on Oct. 15, 1995. The Bulldogs won the Lady Jaguar Invitational to close their season, and Riekert earned MVP honors. She went on to land Second Team All-SEC honors after losing out in a tiebreaker for the final First Team spot.
The midfielder from Plano, Texas posted one of nine 20-point seasons in school history as a sophomore while serving as team captain. She was especially crucial to the team's success late in the season, scoring the game-winner in four of State's final six wins on the year.
As a junior she drove home eight goals while collecting 22 points, making her one of three players in program history with consecutive 20-point seasons. She added two more game-winning goals, bringing her career total to eight. Riekert picked up at least one point in 11 of the 20 matches she started and earned Second Team All-SEC honors for the second time.
At the start of her senior campaign, Riekert was described as "the program's defining student-athlete in the first three seasons." By that time, she was the only player to have started every match in the Bulldogs' history. Though she would start just 18 of 20 games as a senior, she left MSU as the only player to have played every match in the program's history.
Riekert entered her final season as the career leader in goals (21), assists (15), points (57) shots (165) and game-winning goals. She added one goal in 1998. Her career points, goals and assists records would stand until 2002. Her shots record was broken in 2013 by Elisabeth Sullivan who would go on to also claim the goals and points records. Riekert's 72 starts stood as the gold standard until 2004.
Today, she is third all-time in points, tied for third in both goals and assists and second in shots and game-winning goals.
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
Players Mentioned
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