Mississippi State Loses Battle of the Bulldogs in Overtime

Sunday, October 20

Starkville

4:00 PM

Mississippi State

7-7-1, 2-4-1

Georgia

7-6-2, 3-3-1

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Georgia	0	0	1	1
Mississippi State	0	0	0	0

Mississippi State Loses Battle of the Bulldogs in Overtime

October 20, 2019 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery Photo Gallery

by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

STARKVILLE – A header found its way into the back of Mississippi State's net in the 100^th minute to put the Bulldogs on the losing side of a tight matchup with Georgia on Sunday.

Georgia's Keely Cartrett sent a ball into the box that MSU's goalkeeper Gabby English left her line to attempt to catch. Abby Boyan beat her to the ball, and Boyan's header lofted up and over State's remaining defenders to give Georgia (7-6-2, 3-3-1 SEC) the victory.

"This is an unforgiving league," head coach James Armstrong said. "Right now, everybody is fighting to get points. We didn't take care of the moments we had to win the game. Obviously, they made one extra play that we didn't and that's the difference between winning and losing today. I'm proud of the girls' effort. I thought it was our best performance of the season in a number of ways."

MSU seemed to have taken control of the game late in the second half, building sustained pressure at the edges of the box beginning in the 80^th minute. State's best chance of the evening came in the 87^th minute.

Miranda Carrasco played a through ball that was intercepted by a Georgia defender. However, the defender stumbled over the ball allowing Zakirah McGillivary, Carrasco's intended target, to retrieve the ball. McGillivary dribbled in one-on-one with the keeper, but her shot was just outside the left post.

MSU had two quality chances in the first half. Following a foul, Hailey Zerbel lined up a free kick from about 30 yards out in the 15^th minute. Zerbel's bending shot was headed for the upper left corner of the goal before Georgia's keeper got a hand to it.

In the 22^nd minute, MaKayla Waldner broke free down the edge of the 18-yard box. Waldner took a shot from a sharp angle that was saved.

"We're creating chances," Armstrong said. "That's the positive. We played some really good soccer today and created those chances, but you need that little bit of extra quality in front of goal. We've been practicing a lot of simple finishing and replicating a lot of opportunities that we get. It's just that in that moment we've got to be a little more composed and trust ourselves in front of the goal."

English made an MSU-career-high seven saves. Waldner led MSU with three shots. Onyi Echegini and Monigo Karnley each added two more.

MSU now heads to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a matchup with LSU on Thursday, Oct. 24. Kickoff against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."