Bulldogs Fall Short in Baton Rouge in Sunday Night Soccer Action

Sunday, September 24

Baton Rouge, La.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-3-2, 1-2-0

LSU

7-3-1, 2-1-0

Mississippi St.

LSU

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Bulldogs Fall Short in Baton Rouge in Sunday Night Soccer Action

September 24, 2023 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Lance Pardue, Communications Fellow

BATON ROUGE, La. – Mississippi State (6-3-2, 1-2-0 SEC) squared off with the Tigers of LSU (7-3-1, 2-1-0 SEC) in Baton Rouge on Sunday. After a fiercely fast-paced matchup with LSU, the Dawgs fell 2-1 at the LSU Soccer Stadium.

In front of the Tiger faithful, the Dawgs and Tigers were deadlocked throughout the first 45 minutes of the contest with neither side being able to find the back of the net. LSU led State in shots seven to five at the break with Maddy Anderson having to stand tall in goal to save three of LSU's attacking chances.

After the half, the ball was moving around for both sides at a frenetic pace. State and LSU looked to gain the advantage and with the strong defense from both sides, it was looking like one goal might be the difference.

In the 56^th minute, Hannah Johnson secured her first assist of the season when she found an open Ilana Izquierdo in the box who delivered a rocket off the top of the post that ricocheted into the back of the net to put the Dawgs up 1-nill early in the second half.

In the 62^nd minute, LSU capitalized on a Mississippi State handball in the box to make it 1-1 via a penalty kick off the foot of Mollee Swift. The Tigers would ultimately strike again nine minutes later on Sage Glover's fourth goal of the season, ultimately the game-winner, to make it 2-1. The Dawgs fired off five shots in each frame, forcing LSU's Swift to make key saves throughout the matchup, however, came up just short in the contest as the final horn sounded.

Defensively, Maddy Anderson was able to secure six more saves on the night to bring her season total to 33 and second in the SEC. Anderson is third in the SEC in terms of saves per game with an average of 3.00.

Offensively, Ilana Izquierdo Is now tied for most goals this season for State with fellow junior Aitana Martinez-Montoya with three apiece, rounding out the top-15 in the SEC in that category.

State will be back in action on Friday night as they will welcome the Tennessee Volunteers into Starkville for a matchup that is set to kickoff at 7:30 PM CT. The game will also be available via streaming on SEC Network + for those unable to cheer on the Bulldogs from the MSU Soccer Field.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU women's soccer on X, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateSoc."

– HailState.com –