Tougher Together
August 24, 2022 | Soccer, Joel Coleman
Bulldogs head into home opener unbeaten and united.
STARKVILLE – On Thursday night, Mississippi State will step on the pitch for its first home match of the 2022 season at 6:30 p.m. against Lipscomb. Two contests have already come and gone in this 2022 season and so far, the Bulldogs are unbeaten.
It's been a strong start to the year. Underlying the early momentum is a feeling this bunch has that immeasurable component – that 'It Factor' – that is often discussed but hard to put a finger on.
"The biggest thing is, every year, new people come in and you always say, 'We're going to be good this year. This team is something special.' But if your team doesn't fully believe it, it's not going to go anywhere," fifth-year Bulldog defender Andrea Tyrrell said. "This group really believes this year. We can see over the summer, the work that's been put in, we can feel this year is something special."
There's certainly been some early proof. There was the season-opening draw at Miami that saw MSU record the most shots and shots on goal in a match in two years while also keeping the Hurricanes off the scoreboard. Then came a 3-1 win over FIU that featured a pair of goals from Alivia Buxton, who rode the performance to a Southeastern Conference Player of the Week award. Sophomore transfer Haley McWhirter also scored.
It's fitting that Buxton and McWhirter have helped guide the way so far. Even on a team that has a strong core of leaders including six fifth-year players and a trio of veteran captains, State's group of underclassmen play a critical role in why the Bulldogs believe great things are ahead in 2022.
"I think over the years we've had leaders be just upperclassmen, but now it's gone through kind of our whole team," fifth-year midfielder Hannah Telleysh explains. "Everyone is taking a role being a leader in their own way – on the field, off the field, in the training room, in the team room. Us fifth-year players definitely demand a lot from everyone because we know how important the season is and how quickly it goes by, but I think leadership as a whole, everyone knows it plays an important factor for the team and everyone is doing their part."
Adds fifth-year defender Gwen Mummert: "It's like a feeling of, 'We're all in this together.'"
But how did the Bulldogs get to this point? After all, it's not the easiest thing in the world for younger players to feel they have a voice, especially when they're surrounded by so many with so much more experience.
"You're always told at a young age you don't have to be in a leadership role to lead or you don't have to be a certain age to lead," fifth-year midfielder Alyssa D'Aloise said. "But I think when you come to high school or college as a freshman, you feel like you come in at the bottom of the barrel and don't have to lead. We've had that in the past, but this year, we've come together as one and we've seen classes don't matter. Voices come from every place possible."
Ask any of the Bulldog players what aided in this development, and they'll quickly point you to an offseason event dubbed as The Program. The gist of The Program is this:
Individuals with a military background came in and assessed the team by putting the Bulldogs through challenges in which communication, teamwork and leadership were vital.
At first, junior midfielder and captain Macey Hodge says there was some uncertainty from the team about what they were going to endure. That soon changed to appreciation.
"I think going into it, we did not know what to expect at all," Hodge said. "Honestly, we were scared. We weren't really sure what was going to happen. So, we just went into it with an open mind like, 'Let's see what we're going to get out of it. It's going to be hard. It's going to be tough. But at the end of the day, we're doing this to get better.' I think from a team chemistry standpoint, we've always been close, but it kind of took it to the next level. We always say, 'I trust you.' But in the exercises we did, you had to trust the person next to you. You had no choice."
Veteran or not, everyone had to play a part.
"We were able to do a bunch of activities that required more than just the upperclassmen or the captains to lead the team in order to be successful in the activity we were doing," Tyrrell said. "I think it was eye-opening for the captains as well as the younger kids because now they can see, 'Oh, maybe I'm not that loud, but I can still lead in this way or this way.' There were events where the leadership and the teamwork went hand in hand and you have people throwing out ideas that maybe some upperclassmen never would've thought of. It's like a collective idea for how to get the job done. It was an awesome experience."
Head coach James Armstrong held The Program to try and see if his club could indeed learn to spread around qualities of leadership. He wanted them to hear and be motivated by individuals other than himself and his assistant coaches Brian Dunleavy and Nick Zimmerman – the voices the group was familiar with.
"It was just a good moment for somebody from the outside to come in and take a look at what we believe our team is and then give us feedback as to whether that's the reality or not," Armstrong said. "Did we get out of it what we wanted to achieve as a coaching staff? Absolutely. The players attacked the challenge. Did they enjoy it? I think they enjoyed the outcome. I wouldn't say they enjoyed some of the process to get to that outcome. But in all seriousness, it was awesome. I think we all learned a lot as a coaching staff and most importantly, the players learned a lot about each other and about themselves."
Maybe above all else, The Program developed a renewed sense of unity.
"I think it definitely brought our group together," Telleysh said. "We were already close, but during that experience, it definitely helped us to be like, 'OK. Everyone can help each other in different ways, and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but in those moments of weakness, that's when we lean on our teammates.'"
So, on Thursday night at the MSU Soccer Field, the Bulldogs will lean on each other once again as they seek to continue their early-season success. And on Thursday – and for the rest of the season for that matter – whatever happens, Mississippi State will go through it together as one.
"We're all on the same page," D'Aloise said. "That's something we haven't necessarily always had is everything going in the same direction. We've had arrows pointing in opposite directions, but this year I truly don't think we have that. We're all pointed in the right direction."
