STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State soccer squad defeated DII Columbus State to the tune of 4-0 on Thursday evening, and though it was April Fool’s Day, the score was no joke.

The Bulldogs (6-4-3) defeated Columbus State (5-1-1) with four different goal scorers. It was the third-straight clean sheet for Mississippi State, along with the fourth-straight win of the spring.

The match was an exhibition for the Cougars, but counted for the Dawgs.

The first half saw only one goal: the first career goal for sophomore Madison Cotta. In the 29^th minute of the match, Monigo Karnley passed it to Marcella Cash, and Cash onto Cotta who found the back of the net.

Cotta would end up taking another shot in the 41^st minute of the first half, but it would go wide left.

The first half was fairly quiet in comparison to the second. With one goal under their belt, the Dawgs dug in and went hunting. With added pressure, the Cougars tried to strike back, but couldn’t find a way.

The Cougars would take 11 shots overall, with only two on goal. The Bulldog defense held strong and netminder Maddy Anderson did her part both in and outside of the goal.

Karnley, already having an assist on the day, found herself the perfect birthday present with a goal in the 60^th minute. Hannah Telleysh served it to the Pennsylvanian and gave her the opportunity.

Now two goals deep, Columbus State started ramping up their aggressiveness. They’d record three-straight fouls after Karnley’s goal. Cash took a shot but it went soaring over the top of the net. Not much later, Alyssa D’Aloise would do the same. It was Onyi Echegini who found the next goal for State, her fifth of the season.

From the flank, Birna Jóhannsdóttir gave a good ball to Karnley en route to Echegini from 18 yards out. The goal took some by surprise as the Cougars’ goalkeeper barely flinched, giving Echegini wide open net.

With the third Mississippi State goal recorded, both squads made a handful of substitutions.

Toward the end of the match, the Bulldogs decided they weren’t finished yet. A set piece by State was thwarted, but back came KK Pavatt and Hailey Farrington-Bentil. The ball pinged off the goal’s right pole off Pavatt and came back at Farrington-Bentil who tapped it in for her third of the season in the 87^th minute.

The Bulldogs end their season on a high note and with a winning record. They played all four matches of the spring at home, kept a clean sheet in three-straight matches, and went 4-0 in 2021.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, search “HailStateSOC” on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.