PENSACOLA, Fla. – In the first overtime match of the season for the Mississippi State soccer program (11-4-4), the Bulldogs outlasted the Texas A&M Aggies (9-6-5) to advance to the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals.

Graduate transfer Jojo Ngongo‘s 99^th-minute header helped secure State its first conference tournament appearance past the first round.

“The fight in this group is unbelievable – they never gave up tonight,” head coach James Armstrong said. “This is a special group who continues to fight through adversity. Beyond proud of these players and staff.”

Neither team could score in the opening 35 minutes. Two minutes later, sophomore Juliet Moore sent in a booming cross onto the path of both an oncoming Gwen Mummert and the Aggie goalkeeper. After both missed the initial, first touch, Mummert spun around and toe-tapped the ball into the back of the net to give MSU the first-half lead.

The graduate defender now has two goals as a Bulldog, both coming in her 2022 campaign.

MSU carried the one-goal advantage into halftime, and well into the second half before Texas A&M found the equalizer in the 85^th minute.

Less than five minutes left in the first of two overtime periods, Ngongo scored her first-career goal as a Bulldog off an assist from recently-named SEC All-Freshman team member Maggie Wadsworth. It’s now the fourth assist for the standout freshman.

The No. 8 seeded Bulldogs will return to the pitch Tuesday, Nov. 1, for a quarterfinal match against the No. 1 seeded Alabama Crimson Tide (17-1-1, 10-0 SEC). The match will kick off at 5 p.m. CT and will air on SEC Network.

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