STARKVILLE — As Mississippi State women’s soccer coach James Armstrong exited the media room under Humphrey Coliseum, he let out a subtle “Y’all.”
Thanking the gathered reporters and MSU staffers for attending Monday afternoon’s press conference, the southern slang noticeably seeped through his thick English accent.
Born in Yorkshire, England, Armstrong played his collegiate soccer at the University of Edinburgh before heading stateside.
Now in his 18th year of coaching in the United States — including a six-year spell at Auburn — the native Brit and adopted southerner is tasked with continuing the recent upward trajectory of the MSU women’s soccer team.
“Having faced Mississippi State at my old school, this was a place you didn’t want to come against a team you didn’t want to play against,” Armstrong said. “And I knew that they were hungry so from that standpoint everything ticked the box and I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
Returning a strong contingent of last season’s NCAA Tournament roster, MSU is noticeably experienced despite boasting just three seniors.
The Bulldogs bring back 65 percent of last season’s scoring — highlighted by leading scorers sophomore forward Zakirah McGillivary and senior forward MaKayla Waldner. Sophomore defender Miranda Carrasco, who led all SEC freshmen in assists a year ago, also returns along with an eight-player sophomore class.
“That sophomore class has got to have a lot of leadership.” Armstrong said. “The other thing that’s always hard as a sophomore coming in is that people know who you are. When you’re a freshman a lot of times you’re a surprise package. But now the Miranda Carasco’s, the Zakirah McGillivary’s — everybody knows who they are now.”
Experience aside, MSU also welcomes 16 newcomers to the fold in 2019. A 13-player recruiting class comprises the bulk of the new faces, while graduate transfer goalie Gabby English (San Diego State), sophomore defender Niejia Watkins(Nebraska) and sophomore midfielder/defender Sam Stiglmair (Shaw University) round out the contingent.
“We’re trying to implement corps values and pass it down to our team,” Waldner said of the remaining seniors. “I’ve been here for four years, (senior defender Hailey Zerbel) has been here for two and we’re trying to show what you have to do to be a good leader. Hopefully and hopefully fill in these gaps so what we can’t cover the younger girls can.”
“We have captains on our team but everybody plays a huge role,” Zerbel added. “It’s not just specifically (the captains). Being a senior on the team you have to be a leader.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs have struggled putting the ball away over the past six years — scoring just 134 goals in that span. By contrast, Armstrong’s Auburn teams’ totaled 215 goals over that same time frame.
Seeking an offensive infusion in 2019, Armstrong has preached a balanced approach to improving on the attacking end.
“Value possession — that’s going to be the really big thing,” Armstrong said. “Don’t give the ball away. I know that sounds really simple but if you’re unopposed, keep the ball and really enjoy having it… And the final piece is what we do in the final third and we’ll get to that point.”
Last season marked a number of firsts for the MSU soccer program. The Bulldogs reached their first NCAA Tournament in school history and notched their first ever national ranking September 24 — coming in at No. 19 in TopDrawerSoccer.com’s national poll.
And while the program firsts offer a glimpse of what 2019 could bring, Armstrong has his sights set on maintaining the standard MSU achieved just a year ago.
“The big thing in talking to the girls when the new staff arrived was even though we made the NCAA Tournament, we didn’t make the SEC Tournament,” he said. “So really we’re trying to go one better in terms of league play but national play as well.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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