NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A sharp-angle shot found its way into the net in the 57^th minute and proved to be the difference as Mississippi State dropped a 2-1 decision at Lipscomb on Thursday night.

 

In a tie game, the Bisons’ Cami Rogers played a long pass down the right sideline for Molly Grant to run onto. Grant served in a cross that sailed toward the net and slipped just over goalkeeper Maddy Anderson’s gloves for the game-winning goal.

 

“Obviously, not the way we wanted to start the season by any means, but I thought it was a gutsy performance,” head coach James Armstrongsaid. “I thought we created a lot of chances. We outshot them. We out-possessed them, but at the end of the day the category that matters is the goals, right? They scored two goals from four chances, and we only scored one from, I think, nine. Give the girl some credit. Could it have been a cross? Could it have been a shot? I don’t know, but it went in the back of the net.”

 

Lipscomb opened the scoring in the 40^th minute off a corner kick. Grace Oliver’s initial header was blocked in the box, but Logan McFadden cleaned up the rebound to give the Bisons a one-goal lead at the break.

 

MSU rallied in the second half, however, taking nine shots and putting four on frame. Just over three minutes into the second half, Onyi Echegini played a ball through to Hannah Telleysh. Telleysh served a low cross into the box, and Monigo Karnley headed it home to tie the game.

 

“I’m proud of the girls,” Armstrong added. “They responded in the second half and scored a great goal coming out after conceding on a soft set piece. We lost our mark in the box, and you can’t do that. You have to dominate both boxes. Overall though lots of positives. We’ve just got to rebound and respond to get ready for a good Louisiana team on Sunday.”

 

Lipscomb regained the lead on Grant’s goal, but State kept up the pressure from that point on. MSU finished the match with 55 percent of possession, and nearly tied the game twice more. Andrea Tyrrell made a sliding tackle inside the six-yard box in the 63^rd minute to keep the game in reach, and Anderson made a save in the 75^th minute.

 

Hailey Farrington-Bentil had State’s best shot to tie it in the 81^st minute, putting a header on target that forced the keeper to make a diving save to her right. In the 88^th minute, the Bulldogs earned a free kick from the top of the box, but Gwen Mummert’s shot sailed high.

 

MSU will return home to host Louisiana on Sunday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs will enter that match riding a four-game home winning streak after closing the 2020-21 season with three consecutive shutouts in Starkville.

 

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