Regular-Season Finale Set For Sunday In Starkville

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State wraps up the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 11 a.m. CT when the No. 25 Bulldogs host Georgia on SEC Network+.

Due to inclement weather in the forecast on Sunday afternoon, the match was moved from its originally-scheduled time of 2 p.m. to give the teams the best possible opportunity to complete the game without interruption.

Both teams are in the top half of the conference and playing with significant seeding implications in next week's SEC Tournament on the line. Georgia could still win the league with favorable results across the conference. Meanwhile, State is fighting for a potential first-round bye and can still finish as high as third in the SEC.

To do so, MSU also needs Vanderbilt to win or tie at South Carolina and Tennessee to tie or lose against Alabama. MSU would lose tie-breakers to South Carolina and Vanderbilt if the Bulldogs and Gamecocks both were to win and finish on 19 points. That would leave State with the slightest chance to sneak into a bye in fourth place if Tennessee also lost or tied.

For Georgia, a win combined with an Arkansas loss and Vanderbilt loss would hand the visiting Bulldogs the conference title.

Sunday afternoon will serve as MSU's annual Halloween match with free candy for children in attendance and free pizza for the first 250 students. The Bulldogs will host a kid's costume contest at halftime.

Kicking Off

Handled By Harrison: Jenny Harrison made her first career Division I start at Alabama last time out, earning her first win and shutout while making eight saves. The eight saves were the most by a Bulldog keeper in her first career start in net since Emily Meyers made 13 against Georgia in 2004.

Tough Final Stretch: The Bulldogs' final three games ranked as the No. 12 hardest schedule remaining in the country with a combined opponents' winning percentage of .705 entering those games.

Adia Represents America: Adia Symmonds has been called up to the U.S. U-19/U-18 Women's National Team for a pair of friendlies against Ireland (Oct. 25) and Portugal (Oct. 28). She will miss Sunday's match while in Portugal.

Best First Season: Nick Zimmerman's 10 wins lead all first-year head coaches nationally, which stands as the program record for wins by a first-year head coach.

Score First: State has scored first in every match it has won this year, going 10-2-0.

About Georgia (9-3-5, 5-1-3 SEC)

Rankings: United Soccer Coaches – NR | TopDrawerSoccer – NR
Head Coach: Keidane McAlpine | Record at UGA: 43-20-20 (4th Year) | Career Record: 225-109-57 (19th Year)

Series History

Notables

Both sets of Bulldogs are known for second-half scoring with 20 goals each in the final 45 minutes. Georgia's plus-23 goal differential is No. 18 in the nation and third in the SEC. Summer Denigan is tied with State's Ally Perry for second in the SEC and 15th nationally with four game-winning goals. Denigan's 10 goals overall rank third in the league. Goalkeeper Hannah Folliard is fourth in the SEC in shutouts (4) and goals against average (0.83). Georgia's eight-week streak of being ranked came to an end this week. It was the longest streak for the program since 2010.

Next Up

The SEC Tournament begins on Sunday, Nov. 2, but four teams will earn first-round byes and begin play in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The tournament will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow the Bulldogs

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Regular-Season Finale Set For Sunday In Starkville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jenny Harrison

Ally Perry

Adia Symmonds

Mississippi State University Athletics

Regular-Season Finale Set For Sunday In Starkville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jenny Harrison

Ally Perry

Adia Symmonds

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