Late Goals Lift No. 17 Virginia Tech Past MSU, 2-1

Sunday, August 21

Charleston, S.C.

10:00 AM

Mississippi State

1-1

#17 Virginia Tech

2-0

Virginia Tech

MSU

Late Goals Lift No. 17 Virginia Tech Past MSU, 2-1

August 21, 2016 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After almost an entire game of scoreless soccer, Mississippi State (1-1) and No. 17 Virginia Tech (2-0) combined for three goals in the final nine minutes of play as the Hokies edged out the Bulldogs, 2-1 to cap the weekend in Charleston.

MSU broke into the scoring column first on Sunday, after freshman MaKayla Waldner earned her first career goal to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead in the 81st minute. VT would respond however in the 88th and 89th minute, as the Hokie Candace Cephers connected on a penalty kick followed by a header to seal the comeback win.

"We played a great game, but give Virginia Tech credit because they finished today," head coach Aaron Gordon said. "They're one of the top teams in the nation and they showed why this afternoon. We're going to take this as a great lesson and use it as motivation going forward. I'm proud of how we performed and that we were able to split the weekend. We've going to take great positives away from the games here in Charleston."

The Maroon and White now returns to Starkville following the weekend split in Charleston, as the Bulldogs prepare for their home opener against Lipscomb on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

Battling the heat and the 17th ranked team in the nation, the Bulldogs stood toe-to-toe with the Hokies, but ran out of time to land their last attack as VT earned the win in the final two minutes.

MSU's first goal was chipped in by freshman Waldner who cleaned up a sprinting Mallory Eubanks' shot that was deflected by VT's goalie. With time winding down, a foul inside the box gave Cephers a chance to tie the game, which she connected on to bring the score to 1-1. The senior then snuck a header in a minute later, to lift the Hokies to the comeback win.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
MSU – MaKayla Waldner (81:52) The freshmen earned her first career goal as a Bulldog, after cleaning up a deflected Mallory Eubanks shot in the 81^st minute to put the Bulldogs up, 1-0.

VT – Candace Cephers (88:18) Following a foul inside the box, senior Candace Cephers connected on a penalty kick to tie the game for the Hokies at 1-1.

VT – Candace Cephers (89:05) A free kick from outside of the 18 was sent Candace Cephers way, who headed the ball in the corner of the goal for the go-ahead score.

Additional Notes:

The three goals scored over the weekend are the most to begin a season since 2013's six scores
MSU used 19 players in the game
Courtney Robicheaux, Khalyn Harmon and Tanya de Souza all played the full 90 minutes
Freshmen MaKayla Waldner and Johanna Hamblett have started in back-to-back games for the Bulldogs.

Head Coach Aaron Gordon Quotes:
"We played a great game, but give Virginia Tech credit because they finished today," head coach Aaron Gordon said. "They're one of the top teams in the nation and they showed why this afternoon. We're going to take this as a great lesson and use it as motivation going forward. I'm proud of how we performed and that we were able to split the weekend. We've going to take great positives away from the games here in Charleston."

Up Next:
Following the weekend split, the Bulldogs return to Starkville for their home opener against Lipscomb on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be a rematch of last year's game in Nashville that MSU won 2-0.

Social Media:
For more information on the Mississippi State soccer program, follow "HailStateSOC" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.