State Soccer to Kick Off Season at Auburn

Friday, September 18

Auburn, Ala.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Auburn

State Soccer to Kick Off Season at Auburn

September 17, 2020 | Soccer

Match Notes Live Stats Watch

The Bulldogs' season-opener is on the road for the first time since 2016.

by: Madelon Allen, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State Soccer heads to Auburn to kick off the 2020 season, the Mississippi State athletic year, as well as the Southeastern Conference slate. The match is set for Friday (9/18) at 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

"We've had a great deal of time in preseason to fine-tune some things and not rush through what we've wanted to work on," said Head Coach James Armstrong. "We're excited to finally play a different team other than ourselves. It's a really difficult team to prepare for to be honest. They have a really good 2020 class coming in which I know they're excited about. I have familiarity with them since I helped recruit a number of those players, but just like with any freshman, you never know until you see them play in a meaningful game."

This will be Armstrong's second time meeting his former team on the field, but this time he has a win under his belt. State defeated the Tigers at home last season in a 3-2 win at home.

Mississippi State's roster is made up of 32 players, including 18 returners and 14 newcomers, which includes nine freshmen and five transfers. One of those transfers, junior Alyssa D'Aloise, was selected as one of the three captains by her peers. D'Aloise, senior Kristen Malebranche and junior Andrea Tyrrell will be leading their team in the 2020 season.

The Bulldogs bring back four of their top five scorers from last season, including Monigo Karnley, Onyi Echegini, Hailey Farrington-Bentil, and Niah Johnson. Amongst those four, they have a total of 106 shots, 47 shots on goal, 14 goals, 36 points, and eight assists.

MSU finished off 2019 with a record of 8-8-3 in Armstrong's first season, and made it to Orange Beach, Alabama for the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2004.

Game Information

Opponent: Auburn
Location: Auburn, Alabama
Time: Friday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m. CT
Broadcast: SEC Network (pxp – Mike Watts, Analyst – Cat Whitehill)

Series History

Overall: 5-17-2
At MSU: 5-6-1
At Auburn: 0-11-1
Neutral: 0-0-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 10, 2019 (AU 2, MSU 3)

Quick Touches

MSU is 16-18-1 all-time in season openers and 6-4-0 when playing them on the road. This will be the first time they haven't played their opener on their home turf since 2016. State has won four-straight season-openers.
A win at Auburn would be the first in school history and would also be the first time State has won two-straight against the Tigers.
The Bulldogs welcomed 14 newcomers to the squad in 2020, with nine freshmen and five transfers.
The Bulldogs have three new faces to choose their new netminder in freshman Maddy Anderson, and sophomores Katie Moore and Hannah Pimentel. Moore started in one game last season and finished with a record of 1-1-0.
On match day, it will have been 191 days since any Bulldog team played a game.

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