Sunday, August 23
Starkville
6 p.m.
Mississippi State
vs
Southern Miss
In-State Matchup On Tap For Bulldog Soccer
August 22, 2026 | Soccer
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State hosts Southern Miss for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on Sunday night. The match is slated to air on SEC Network+.
State should be well-rested after seeing Thursday evening's match against Arkansas State canceled after 30 minutes of play by persistent lightning in the area. Chiara Tappe scored in that time with an assist from Laila Murillo, but those stats will not count.
Sunday will be the first of three matches remaining in non-conference play where a Bulldog faces their former team. Rebeka Vega spent two years at Southern Miss in 2023 and 2024, though she missed a significant portion of one season while playing with the Venezuela U20 National Team.
MSU has won seven straight matches against in-state competition and is unbeaten in its last five meetings with the Golden Eagles dating back to 2014.
Kids can take part in a postgame autograph session on Sunday evening. Thursday evening's student raffle has been moved to the upcoming Thursday, Aug. 27 match against Oklahoma State.
On The Front Foot: The Bulldogs have never trailed this season, and thanks to their early scoring, MSU has led for 168:29 of the 180:00 minutes its played. State scored in the fifth and seventh minutes in the first two matches of 2026.
Commanding The Corner: The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally and lead the SEC, averaging 12.50 corners per game. State has posted double-digit corner kicks in both games this season while not allowing more than four in either match.
How Old Is She?: Kati Anne Shepherd should be a senior in high school this fall after reclassifying to join the program early. At just 17 years and 75 days old, she became the youngest scorer in program history when she netted MSU's first goal of the season.
Head Coach: Danny Owens | Record at USM: 1-1-0 (1st Year) | Career Record: 355-65-18 (21st Year)
State should be well-rested after seeing Thursday evening's match against Arkansas State canceled after 30 minutes of play by persistent lightning in the area. Chiara Tappe scored in that time with an assist from Laila Murillo, but those stats will not count.
Sunday will be the first of three matches remaining in non-conference play where a Bulldog faces their former team. Rebeka Vega spent two years at Southern Miss in 2023 and 2024, though she missed a significant portion of one season while playing with the Venezuela U20 National Team.
MSU has won seven straight matches against in-state competition and is unbeaten in its last five meetings with the Golden Eagles dating back to 2014.
Kids can take part in a postgame autograph session on Sunday evening. Thursday evening's student raffle has been moved to the upcoming Thursday, Aug. 27 match against Oklahoma State.
Kicking Off
Ghost Goal: Chiarra Tappe scored what would have been her first career goal on in the 14th minute on Thursday, but with the game called in the 30th minute due to lightning, no stats from that match count. Eden Nicholson also saw her first career start erased.On The Front Foot: The Bulldogs have never trailed this season, and thanks to their early scoring, MSU has led for 168:29 of the 180:00 minutes its played. State scored in the fifth and seventh minutes in the first two matches of 2026.
Commanding The Corner: The Bulldogs rank fourth nationally and lead the SEC, averaging 12.50 corners per game. State has posted double-digit corner kicks in both games this season while not allowing more than four in either match.
How Old Is She?: Kati Anne Shepherd should be a senior in high school this fall after reclassifying to join the program early. At just 17 years and 75 days old, she became the youngest scorer in program history when she netted MSU's first goal of the season.
About Southern Miss (1-1-0, 0-0-0 SBC)
Rankings: United Soccer Coaches – NR | TopDrawerSoccer – NRHead Coach: Danny Owens | Record at USM: 1-1-0 (1st Year) | Career Record: 355-65-18 (21st Year)
Series History
Overall: 9-2-2 | Current Streak: Won 3 | Home: 5-1-1 | Away: 4-1-1 | Neutral: 0-0-0 | Last Meeting: Sept. 8, 2022, MSU 2-0Notables
Southern Miss opened the 2026 season with a road win at Alabama State in first-year head coach Danny Owens' Golden Eagle debut. Owens comes from the NAIA ranks where he spent 20 years at William Carey and ammassed more than 350 victories. Last time out, USM lost a one-goal match at McNeese. The Golden Eagles rank second in the Sun Belt in goals against average but also lead the way with four yellow cards through two matches. The team did not play a match on Thursday, and in fact will play two matches in the same week just once in non-conference play (Sept. 3 and 6).Next Up
The Bulldogs remain at home on Thursday for a 6 p.m. kickoff against Oklahoma State. That match will air on SEC Network+.Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on X, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSOC."
Players Mentioned
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