STARKVILLE – Coming off its 10th win of the season, the Mississippi State soccer program gears up for a matchup with the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (14-1-1, 7-0-0 SEC) on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Alabama will be the highest-ranked team to ever enter MSU Soccer Field and will be the second top-5 opponent State has hosted, both being fellow conference opponents (No. 4 South Carolina, Oct. 6, 2016).
The Bulldogs enter the contest at No. 25 in the most recent Top Drawer Soccer rankings, while the Tide enters at No. 1. In the United Soccer Coaches Poll, Alabama ranks third nationally.
“There’s a great opportunity for us to play against the hottest team in the country right now,” head coach James Armstrong said. “Alabama is deservedly ranked where they are and they’re a tremendous team. We’re going to give it everything we have – we’re going to compete, we’re going to fight in front of a great home crowd. We’re really excited about [Thursday night].”
MSU recently picked up its 10th win of the season over in-state rival Ole Miss (Oct. 13). The Dawgs return to StarkVegas for its final, SEC-divisional match of the regular season. In its previous two home matches, State has broken its all-time attendance record twice.
Alabama, meanwhile, is coming off a top-10 win over Arkansas (Oct. 16). The Crimson Tide gave up the opening goal in the 17th minute before responding with the equalizer eight minutes later. Alabama scored the game-winner in the 83rd minute to remain undefeated in conference play.
W, 1-0 at Ole Miss
State secured its first three-peat of the Magnolia Cup after beating Ole Miss, 1-0, in Oxford. It was the 10th shutout of the 2022 campaign for MSU, which is the most recorded by a team in a single season in program history. Freshman Maggie Wadsworth started the game-winning play by forcing three Rebel defenders to corral her before laying the ball off to Haley McWhirter, who tallied her third game-winning goal of the season.
For the fifth-straight week, MSU finds itself ranked by Top Drawer Soccer. The Dawgs sit at No. 25 for the second week in a row. For her performance at Ole Miss, McWhirter was recently named to Top Drawer’s Team of the Week as an honorable mention. Wadsworth has also earned recognition from the organization as the Bulldog is…
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