Saturday, August 24
Starkville
7:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
BYU
State Hosts Nationally-Ranked BYU Saturday Evening
August 23, 2019 | Soccer
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications
STARKVILLE – After opening the season with a victory for the fourth straight year, Mississippi State's soccer team will host #RV/22 BYU on Saturday evening at the MSU Soccer Field. Kickoff on SEC Network+ is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Fans are invited to start tailgating a week before football season on the hillsides surrounding the soccer press box. Admission is free, and the Bulldogs will provide hot dogs, buns, charcoal and other grilling supplies. On-campus residents can also claim free pizza, and two tickets to the first home football game of the year against Southern Miss will be given away at halftime to one fan that brings their cowbell.
Following the match, fans will have the chance to meet the team and pick up signed schedule posters.
The Bulldogs have not lost a regular-season, non-conference game in 20 matches. That streak is second only to a 25-match run spanning the 1995-97 seasons, but it will face a stiff test on Saturday. The Cougars were selected as co-favorites to win the West Coast Conference along with No. 13/9 Santa Clara after claiming the league title a year ago.
"We are really looking forward to the challenge of playing an experienced and talented BYU team on our home field," head coach James Armstrong said. "It should be a fast-paced and exciting game for our fans to come and show their fantastic support."
Thursday night saw State's youth on full display as seven of MSU's 12 points were earned by freshmen and sophomores. The Bulldogs played six freshmen for the final nine minutes of the match. Despite ranking second in the SEC with 16 freshmen on the roster, MSU returns 65 percent of its scoring from a year ago.
Senior MaKayla Waldner totaled 14 points last year and has already grabbed four in 2019 after a two-goal night on Thursday. She is now tied for fourth in program history with 20 career goals, including eight game-winners, which is just one shy of matching the program record.
MSU's defense held Alabama A&M to just two shots, with none on target in the season opener. BYU enters the match off a 1-0 win at Alabama on Thursday night.
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. CT
Broadcast: SEC Network+ (PxP – Anthony Craven; Analyst – Chris Nasuti)
At MSU: N/A
At BYU: N/A
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
STARKVILLE – After opening the season with a victory for the fourth straight year, Mississippi State's soccer team will host #RV/22 BYU on Saturday evening at the MSU Soccer Field. Kickoff on SEC Network+ is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Fans are invited to start tailgating a week before football season on the hillsides surrounding the soccer press box. Admission is free, and the Bulldogs will provide hot dogs, buns, charcoal and other grilling supplies. On-campus residents can also claim free pizza, and two tickets to the first home football game of the year against Southern Miss will be given away at halftime to one fan that brings their cowbell.
Following the match, fans will have the chance to meet the team and pick up signed schedule posters.
The Bulldogs have not lost a regular-season, non-conference game in 20 matches. That streak is second only to a 25-match run spanning the 1995-97 seasons, but it will face a stiff test on Saturday. The Cougars were selected as co-favorites to win the West Coast Conference along with No. 13/9 Santa Clara after claiming the league title a year ago.
"We are really looking forward to the challenge of playing an experienced and talented BYU team on our home field," head coach James Armstrong said. "It should be a fast-paced and exciting game for our fans to come and show their fantastic support."
Thursday night saw State's youth on full display as seven of MSU's 12 points were earned by freshmen and sophomores. The Bulldogs played six freshmen for the final nine minutes of the match. Despite ranking second in the SEC with 16 freshmen on the roster, MSU returns 65 percent of its scoring from a year ago.
Senior MaKayla Waldner totaled 14 points last year and has already grabbed four in 2019 after a two-goal night on Thursday. She is now tied for fourth in program history with 20 career goals, including eight game-winners, which is just one shy of matching the program record.
MSU's defense held Alabama A&M to just two shots, with none on target in the season opener. BYU enters the match off a 1-0 win at Alabama on Thursday night.
Game Information
Opponent: BYULocation: Starkville, Mississippi
Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. CT
Broadcast: SEC Network+ (PxP – Anthony Craven; Analyst – Chris Nasuti)
Series History
Overall: First MeetingAt MSU: N/A
At BYU: N/A
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Fast Facts
- With two more career goals, MaKayla Waldner will move into a tie for second in MSU history. She needs one game-winner to tie the program record.
- MaKayla Waldner (8/19) extended her streak of scoring on her birthday week to four years. AK Ward (8/22) will attempt to continue the trend and score on her birthday week for a third year.
- Waldner registered her third career multi-goal game, which is tied for second in school history.
- Freshman defender Sydney Strunk was the only field player to play the full 90 minutes on Thursday.
- Since the start of the 2017 season, MSU is 18-3-2 when scoring first. All-time, the Bulldogs are 143-37-6 when they net the first goal of a match.
- MSU's newcomers accounted for 44.6 percent of its scoring in 2018 (41 of 92 points), which led all SEC programs. This year, newcomers have tallied seven of State's 12 points.
- Sam Stiglmair scored the first goal of her Bulldog career on Thursday with assists from Madison Cotta and Grace Seymour who picked up their first career points. Gabby English earned her first MSU shutout and the 20th of her career.
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."
Players Mentioned
M/F
/ Soccer
GK
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
M/D
/ Soccer
D
/ Soccer
F/M
/ Soccer
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