No. 14 MSU Gears Up for Top-15 Showdown

STARKVILLE – The unbeaten Mississippi State soccer program returns to Starkville on Thursday night for a top-15 matchup with South Carolina (7-2-3, 2-2-0 SEC). The contest will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+.

The Bulldogs enter the contest ranked No. 14 and the Gamecocks will enter as No. 12 according to this week's Top Drawer Soccer rankings. Both squads also received votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll.

"We are looking forward to coming back home," head coach James Armstrong said. "We had a great crowd last time [against LSU, where the all-time attendance record was broken], so we're looking forward to another unbelievable crowd. South Carolina is a good team, is well coached and will bring their best. We've been focusing on the details this week to, hopefully, give a better performance than our last game."

MSU returns for its eighth home match of the season (third in conference), after playing to a scoreless draw at Missouri. The Bulldogs' backline recorded their ninth clean sheet of the season, moving Maddy Anderson into sole possession of MSU's new single-season shutouts record for most logged by one goalkeeper.

South Carolina enters the match having defeated Florida, 1-0. Neither team could find the back of the net in a first half that saw both squads recording four shots. The Gamecocks came out swinging in the second, recording eight total shots and scoring the game-winning goal in the 60th minute.

LAST TIME OUT – BREAKING DOWN THE BOX SCORE

T, 0-0 at Missouri
The Dawgs pushed their unbeaten streak out to 12 straight after playing to a scoreless draw at Missouri. Eight minutes into the second half, State rattled off three consecutive scoring opportunities, all coming in a 15-second window. It's the first scoreless draw since State's match versus South Alabama earlier this season (Sept. 1).

TIED FOR FIRST AT THE TOP

MSU is currently tied for first in the SEC in Goals Against Average (0.333). Anderson is first in the conference with nine shutouts (second nationally). Freshman Maggie Wadsworth still leads the league with four game-winning goals (fourth nationally).

VETERANS IN THE BACK, ROOKIES IN THE FRONT

State's backline, containing mostly upperclassmen, has recorded nine shutouts thus far, tied for the most in a season as a team. The nine clean sheets by Anderson is the most by a single GK in one season in program history. Up top, 16 of State's goals have been scored by either a freshman or sophomore. The dynamic duo of Wadsworth and Haley McWhirter have combined for 11 goals, six assists and six game-winners.

Keeping Up With MSU Soccer

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

No. 14 MSU Gears Up for Top-15 Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maddy Anderson

Haley McWhirter

Maggie Wadsworth

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 14 MSU Gears Up for Top-15 Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maddy Anderson

Haley McWhirter

Maggie Wadsworth

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