Dawgs to Face the Memphis Tigers in NCAA Tournament’s Second Round

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 7-seeded Mississippi State soccer program will make its first road trip of the 2022 NCAA Tournament when it travels to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to face the Memphis Tigers (10-5-5, 3-2-3 AAC). Friday’s match (Nov. 18) will kick off at 4 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Arkansas took control of hosting duties after Memphis upset No. 2-seed Saint Louis, last weekend, in the first round.­
 
Friday’s match against the Tigers will be the 17^th meeting between the two programs. The match also marks the first time State has played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
  
MSU enters its third neutral-site game of its postseason schedule, the first in the NCAA Tournament. Four different Bulldogs, spanning across three classes, have scored in postseason play so far, with two seniors scoring State’s two goals on a neutral field.
 
Memphis, meanwhile, is coming off an upset-win over No. 2-seed Saint Louis. The Billikens outshot the Tigers 13 (4) to 5 (3) and took more corner kicks, 7-6. Yet in the 63rd minute, Memphis found the lone goal of the game – giving Saint Louis only its second loss of the season.
 

W, 2-1 vs. New Mexico State (NCAA Tournament Regional Round)
State’s historic season continued after defeating New Mexico State at home, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore defender Rylie Combs’ 87th-minute header helped secure MSU its first NCAA tournament win in program history. Freshman Alivia Buxton’s goal 30 seconds before the end of the first half became the latest goal State has scored in the first half this season.
 

Twenty-two of State’s 28 goals have come from either a freshman or a sophomore. In MSU’s most recent match, both goals were scored by an underclassman and a sophomore (McWhirter) tallied both assists. The trio of McWhirter, Buxton and Maggie Wadsworth combined have been responsible for 18 of those goals.
 

State has worn its white kit in two of its three postseason matches. In those games, State secured its first win in both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Also in both contests, the game-winning goal was scored off an 87^th-minute-or-later header.
  

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateSOC” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
 

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