November 02, 2026 | Soccer
STARKVILLE โ Mississippi State's Chiara Tappe was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring the game-winning goal in the Bulldogs' upset win over No. 6 Alabama.
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It was the first official goal of Tappe's career, although the German native had found the back of the net in an earlier match this season that was abandoned due to inclement weather before becoming official. She now leads all Bulldog defenders with five points this season thanks to three assists earlier in the year.
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Defensively, Tappe was part of a Bulldog squad that posted its ninth shutout of the year, sixth in SEC play and fourth against a ranked team. State has now won or drawn six of its last seven top-10 matches, and it's the first time in program history that the team has gone unbeaten against ranked opponents while playing at least three ranked teams in a season.
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Tappe won 73 percent of her duels in the match according to advanced analytics provided by Wyscout.
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The honor is the first weekly award for Tappe in her career and the Bulldogs' second of the 2026 season. Kati Anne Shepherd was named the league's Freshman of the Week in September after scoring the game-winning goal at Ole Miss.
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MSU has seen at least one player earn SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors in each of the last four seasons, and State has won multiple weekly honors every year since 2020.
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The Bulldogs (9-2-6, 3-1-6 SEC) earned the No. 8 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. MSU will play No. 9-seed Texas on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
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For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC".
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It was the first official goal of Tappe's career, although the German native had found the back of the net in an earlier match this season that was abandoned due to inclement weather before becoming official. She now leads all Bulldog defenders with five points this season thanks to three assists earlier in the year.
ย
Defensively, Tappe was part of a Bulldog squad that posted its ninth shutout of the year, sixth in SEC play and fourth against a ranked team. State has now won or drawn six of its last seven top-10 matches, and it's the first time in program history that the team has gone unbeaten against ranked opponents while playing at least three ranked teams in a season.
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Tappe won 73 percent of her duels in the match according to advanced analytics provided by Wyscout.
ย
The honor is the first weekly award for Tappe in her career and the Bulldogs' second of the 2026 season. Kati Anne Shepherd was named the league's Freshman of the Week in September after scoring the game-winning goal at Ole Miss.
ย
MSU has seen at least one player earn SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors in each of the last four seasons, and State has won multiple weekly honors every year since 2020.
ย
The Bulldogs (9-2-6, 3-1-6 SEC) earned the No. 8 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. MSU will play No. 9-seed Texas on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
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For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC".
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Players Mentioned
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