October 24, 2026 | Soccer
BATON ROUGE, La. โ It will not be the last time Mississippi State hits the road in 2026, but the Bulldogs' penultimate regular-season match will close out their travel schedule before entering the postseason.
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State plays at LSU on Sunday in a 2 p.m. CT match that will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network. Late Friday night, the Bulldogs clinched a berth in the SEC Tournament with a loss by Tennessee. A win on Sunday would move MSU into eighth place in the conference standings and put it in striking distance of climbing as high as the No. 5 seed in next week's season finale.
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LSU meanwhile is still fighting for a spot in Pensacola come November. The Tigers, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee are all in contention for the final two places in the bracket.
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MSU has posted shutouts in five of its eight SEC matches so far this season, and the Bulldogs have allowed just three goals in their last six games.
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Scoring Drought: The Bulldogs have scored two goals in their last five matches. With only two goals in October, it is State's lowest-scoring month since October 2016 (1).
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Shutting Them Down: State boasts four shutouts in conference play, including three against ranked teams. MSU has blocked a league-leading 38.5 percent of opponents' shots in SEC play, and is allowing just 7.9 shots per game, which is third in the SEC behind only Auburn (6.2) and Vanderbilt (6.7).
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Short Bench: State has played the fewest players in league games at 18 with only 17 field players seeing time. Tennessee is the only other team to play fewer than 20 players in league matches.
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Head Coach: Sian Hudson | Record at LSU: 65-52-25 (7th Year) | Career Record: 117-62-29 (10th Year)
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State plays at LSU on Sunday in a 2 p.m. CT match that will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network. Late Friday night, the Bulldogs clinched a berth in the SEC Tournament with a loss by Tennessee. A win on Sunday would move MSU into eighth place in the conference standings and put it in striking distance of climbing as high as the No. 5 seed in next week's season finale.
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LSU meanwhile is still fighting for a spot in Pensacola come November. The Tigers, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee are all in contention for the final two places in the bracket.
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MSU has posted shutouts in five of its eight SEC matches so far this season, and the Bulldogs have allowed just three goals in their last six games.
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Kicking Off
Exceeding Expectations: As the regular season winds down, MSU has already clinched a spot in the SEC Tournament this weekend. If State finishes eighth or better in the standings, it would be the program's largest outperformance of its preseason poll prediction (No. 14) since a six-spot improvement in 2023 that is the current best.ย
Scoring Drought: The Bulldogs have scored two goals in their last five matches. With only two goals in October, it is State's lowest-scoring month since October 2016 (1).
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Shutting Them Down: State boasts four shutouts in conference play, including three against ranked teams. MSU has blocked a league-leading 38.5 percent of opponents' shots in SEC play, and is allowing just 7.9 shots per game, which is third in the SEC behind only Auburn (6.2) and Vanderbilt (6.7).
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Short Bench: State has played the fewest players in league games at 18 with only 17 field players seeing time. Tennessee is the only other team to play fewer than 20 players in league matches.
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About LSU (4-9-3, 2-4-2 SEC)
Rankings: IWSOC โ NR | TopDrawerSoccer โ NRHead Coach: Sian Hudson | Record at LSU: 65-52-25 (7th Year) | Career Record: 117-62-29 (10th Year)
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Series History
Overall: 5-23-3 | Current Streak: Lost 1 | Home: 3-11-1 | Away: 2-11-2 | Neutral: 0-1-0 | Last Meeting: Nov. 6, 2025, LSU 3-1ย
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Notables
LSU erased a two-goal deficit and scored the game-winning penalty kick in the final minute to earn a 4-3 comeback victory at Texas A&M last week. The Tigers began the 2026 season with two forwards recognized on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Despite being one of the lower-scoring teams in the SEC, LSU ranks fifth in the conference in assists. Linka Ono is fifth in the league herself with five helpers. Ava Galligan leads the team in scoring and points, and she ranks 10th in the SEC in total points and sixth in shots per game (2.94).ย
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Next Up
The Bulldogs' final home match of the regular season sees them host No. 7/13 Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 1. Kickoff around the league will be at noon CT, and MSU's game will air on SEC Network+. It is State's annual Pups at the Pitch day with free dog toys for pet owners in attendance.ย
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Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC."ย
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