STARKVILLE — The first NCAA tournament appearance in Mississippi State women’s soccer history ended in tears.
MSU had 28 shots, including seven on target. It kept goalkeeper Rhylee DeCrane out of danger, deflecting all but one shot in regulation and one more in overtime.
Despite all of the scoring opportunities MSU generated, a bounce off a Lipscomb defender that ended its season.
In the final minute of the second overtime, Lipscomb’s free kick bounced off the shoulder of Justis Bailey and past DeCrane for a 1-0 victory that ended MSU’s season at 9-7-2.
“It looked like a harmless ball,” MSU coach Tom Anagnost said.
For the most part, Lipscomb (15-4-2) was just that — harmless. If time of possession was available, it would bolster the point made by MSU’s 28-8 edge in shots. It is fitting of the nearly 110 minutes before it that the game-winning goal came from a well-marked player who had yet to establish true positioning.
DeCrane was called into action a couple of times early in overtime. She charged a hard ball into the box. She intercepted a cross. A minute later she steered a shot wide. The save gave Lipscomb a corner kick on a shot that might have gone wide, but then the defense came back to life. Forward Zakirah McGillivary tackled the ball away and ran into a one-on-one situation.
The run may didn’t result in a goal, but ended Lipscomb’s dangerous offensive chances until the final ball.
“We had the ball the whole game,” midfielder Carly Mauldin said.
That possession would have generated enough scoring to take the Bulldogs to the next round, but they had two goals taken away.
Both of the negated goals were examples of MSU’s set piece expertise. Near the midway point of the first half, defender Hailey Zerbel’s free kick found Mauldin’s head and soared inside the left post, only to be erased by an offsides.
In the second half, a MaKayla Waldner header off a corner kick was called for goalkeeper interference. Anagnost was not pleased.
“Our girl’s just trying to make a play on the ball,” Anagnost said.
Despite having two called back, Anagnost wants to know how so many set pieces didn’t end in goals. He wants to know how only seven of 28 shots made it on goal.
“That was a multiple-goal game for us. It just didn’t happen,” Anagnost said.
In the coming days, Anagnost will watch the match again, get his answers, and continue on to year three of his tenure at MSU. Before he does, he took a moment to remember the history that was made and the journey to that moment.
“As far as the future goes, I love the ascension that’s occurred since I walked in here in January when I met them,” Anagnost said. “It’s remarkable what’s happened, culturally and what the on-field product was to what it is now.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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