Late Goal Ends Mississippi State’s Season with 2-1 Loss

Sunday, November 3

Orange Beach, Ala. (Orange Beach Sportsplex)

3:30 PM

Mississippi State

8-8-3, 3-4-3

Ole Miss

10-6-3, 3-4-3

Team	1	2	Final F
Mississippi State	0	1	1
Ole Miss	1	1	2

Photo by: Scott Donaldson Photography

Late Goal Ends Mississippi State’s Season with 2-1 Loss

November 03, 2019 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score

by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – A tumultuous final two minutes ended in heartbreak for Mississippi State on Sunday night as the Bulldogs saw their season end with a 2-1 defeat in the SEC Tournament.

Trailing by one goal with 1:51 to play, MaKayla Waldner cut into the Rebels' box and drew a penalty. Niah Johnson stepped up to the spot and fired the ball home for the third time this season. Just 36 seconds later, Ole Miss' Gabby Little scored the game-winner to send State home.

"I thought the girls once again showed a huge amount of character and fight tonight in the game," head coach James Armstrong said. "We kept pushing all the way through until the very end. Unfortunately, we just lost a little bit of concentration at a vital time. I couldn't ask any more from the girls and their effort today."

The Rebels (10-6-3, 3-4-3 SEC) opened the scoring in the 13^th minute when the Bulldogs conceded an own goal. Following a quick free kick, Ole Miss served a cross into the box that one of the MSU defenders attempted to clear with a header. The ball was instead directed on net.

Olivia Hernandez nearly equalized in the 21^st minute, but her shot glanced off the inside of the post and bounced across the goal mouth without crossing the line. State (8-8-3, 3-4-3 SEC) had the only shots on goal at halftime, though shots on goal and corners were even at the break.

The Bulldogs had their best chance of the night in the 70^th minute. After her initial cross was blocked, Hernandez sent the ball back into the box where it landed at Johnson's feet. Her shot beat the diving keeper, but not the post, before rebounding back to her. Johnson's follow-up attempt was saved by a Rebel defender on the goal line.

Gabby English made seven saves, matching her MSU-career-high. The Rebels outshot MSU, 13-11.

"We're already thinking about next year as crazy as that sounds," Armstrong said. "Nobody surrounding this program was ready for this season to be over. That's a testament to how much love they have for one another and how much love everyone has for this program. We talk to the girls about leaving their jersey in a better place than they found it, and each and every single one of those girls should be proud of the strides that they've made to put this program on a national scale this year."

Senior MaKayla Waldner ends her career with the MSU record for game-winning goals and ranked second in goals, shots and multi-goal games. She's tied for third in program history in points and tied for fourth in career victories. In her final year, she became the fourth Bulldog to earn First Team All-SEC honors.

The Bulldogs reached the SEC Tournament for the first time in 15 years while posting their third-highest winning percentage in league games in program history. MSU saw five players score multiple goals this year and 16 players recorded a point.

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