Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
The Soccer Crowd
August 26, 2021 | Soccer
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State soccer program closed out the 2020 campaign riding a four-match winning streak at home.
Following a shutout exhibition victory, the Bulldogs continued adding to that growing streak with a 2-0 win over Louisiana in front of a raucous crowd at the MSU Soccer Field on a sweltering Sunday afternoon.
"When you have that many people ringing their cowbells and cheering you on it gives you so much more energy and you feel more pumped to work even harder," said sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Anderson.
MSU has now posted four consecutive shutouts at home and boasted an impressive 5-1-2 record in Starkville last season.
But something was certainly missing in 2020: a crowd. A limited number of fans were allowed to attend games last fall but were seated in small, socially-distanced groups.
Now that those restrictions have been lifted, third-year head coach James Armstrong is excited to have his team's supporters united once again.
"The Mississippi State fan base is phenomenal," Armstrong said. "When they get behind a team, there's full-on momentum. I feel like gradually as time has gone on, the local community is starting to recognize the girls and this program, and we seem to be getting bigger numbers as a result."
Armstrong hopes his team's aggressive style of play will continue to endear itself to the Bulldog fan base and as a result will see an increase in attendance in much the same way Mississippi State women's basketball did in recent years.
"I think Bulldog fans always appreciate a team that works hard, has grit and a blue-collar mentality," Armstrong said. "We talk to the girls about when we represent this school and our soccer program that we make sure to try and outwork everybody that we play against. We also play an attractive brand of soccer. It's an attacking style with lots of opportunities on Sundays that the fans can get excited about."
Mississippi State has a massive opportunity tonight to showcase its home field advantage taking on Arizona State at 7 p.m. CT. It is the first time the Bulldogs have ever hosted a Pac-12 opponent and marks just the second game ever against a Pac-12 foe in program history.
"It's so exciting," said senior defender Niah Johnson. "Since I've been here, those are the games that we live for. The opportunity to play a good team like that and have the fans come cheer us on is what we play for really."
Admission to MSU soccer games is always free and with the help of the fans, Armstrong wants to establish a reputation as one of the toughest venues to play in for opposing teams.
"We obviously set goals and objectives at the start of each season and a big one was to make our home a fortress," Armstrong said. "We want to make sure that anybody that comes in here is going to be put under pressure straight away on both sides of the ball."
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Following a shutout exhibition victory, the Bulldogs continued adding to that growing streak with a 2-0 win over Louisiana in front of a raucous crowd at the MSU Soccer Field on a sweltering Sunday afternoon.
"When you have that many people ringing their cowbells and cheering you on it gives you so much more energy and you feel more pumped to work even harder," said sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Anderson.
MSU has now posted four consecutive shutouts at home and boasted an impressive 5-1-2 record in Starkville last season.
But something was certainly missing in 2020: a crowd. A limited number of fans were allowed to attend games last fall but were seated in small, socially-distanced groups.
Now that those restrictions have been lifted, third-year head coach James Armstrong is excited to have his team's supporters united once again.
"The Mississippi State fan base is phenomenal," Armstrong said. "When they get behind a team, there's full-on momentum. I feel like gradually as time has gone on, the local community is starting to recognize the girls and this program, and we seem to be getting bigger numbers as a result."
Armstrong hopes his team's aggressive style of play will continue to endear itself to the Bulldog fan base and as a result will see an increase in attendance in much the same way Mississippi State women's basketball did in recent years.
"I think Bulldog fans always appreciate a team that works hard, has grit and a blue-collar mentality," Armstrong said. "We talk to the girls about when we represent this school and our soccer program that we make sure to try and outwork everybody that we play against. We also play an attractive brand of soccer. It's an attacking style with lots of opportunities on Sundays that the fans can get excited about."
Mississippi State has a massive opportunity tonight to showcase its home field advantage taking on Arizona State at 7 p.m. CT. It is the first time the Bulldogs have ever hosted a Pac-12 opponent and marks just the second game ever against a Pac-12 foe in program history.
"It's so exciting," said senior defender Niah Johnson. "Since I've been here, those are the games that we live for. The opportunity to play a good team like that and have the fans come cheer us on is what we play for really."
Admission to MSU soccer games is always free and with the help of the fans, Armstrong wants to establish a reputation as one of the toughest venues to play in for opposing teams.
"We obviously set goals and objectives at the start of each season and a big one was to make our home a fortress," Armstrong said. "We want to make sure that anybody that comes in here is going to be put under pressure straight away on both sides of the ball."
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Players Mentioned
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