Bulldogs Post Clean Sheet In Exhibition Victory

Tuesday, August 10

Starkville

6:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

UAB (Exh.)

Bulldogs Post Clean Sheet In Exhibition Victory

August 10, 2021 | Soccer

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By: Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State took full control in a 4-0 exhibition victory against UAB on Tuesday night. Three different Bulldogs scored, and MSU posted its fourth shutout in its last five games dating back to the spring portion of the 2020-21 schedule.

State opened the scoring in the 11^th minute when Monigo Karnley deflected a free kick from Miranda Carrasco into the net, which would stand as the game-winner. Karnley is the team's returning leader with six career game-winning goals.

Late in the first of three 30-minute periods, Onyi Echegini scored two goals in the span of 84 seconds. In the 24^th minute she rifled a shot home after receiving a pass from Hannah Johnson, who registered an assist in her first collegiate action. In the 25^th minute, Echegini found a loose ball in the box and finished it for a three-goal lead.

"Great night for the girls. I thought it was a great first outing for us," head coach James Armstrong said. "We got to play 25 players, which was tremendous for us. Keeping a clean sheet against a very strong UAB team was important. I love that we scored four goals."

Maddy Anderson was untested in the first and third periods, while playing 60 minutes on the night. Mac Titus took over in net for the second period and made two saves.

With the clock winding down, Hailey Farrington-Bentil jumped on a deflected pass for a short-range finish in the 89^th minute.

"We talked a lot about being ruthless in front of goal and to get a goal in the last two minutes, I thought, showed the mentality of the team. Lots of positives, lots of things we've still got to work on. UAB caused us some problems in certain areas, and we'll obviously identify those moving forward to get ready to play a very good South Alabama team this upcoming Saturday."

The Bulldogs will now travel to South Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 14 for a final exhibition match against the Jaguars. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. in Mobile. MSU opens the regular season on the road at Lipscomb on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateSOC" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.