STARKVILLE — Mississippi State soccer coach Neil Macdonald can do the math.
Eight teams made the Southeastern Conference postseason event and those same eight teams made the NCAA Tournament the following week.
Clearly none of those programs were his but the goal of the next level can be defined as a parallel thought process.
“I think we’re closer to being at that level than we ever have been at Mississippi State,” Macdonald said.
Being one game out of the conference tournament means in the mind of MSU’s 8-year coach that is program is one game away from the national stage.
“The conference is the best it has ever been. Eight teams is the most we have ever gotten into a single NCAA Tournament,” Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said. “The last highest was six. It’s the best year we have ever had and it does speak volumes to what our team is capable of.”
The University of Mississippi was able to play the ultimate spoiler role ending MSU’s hopes of making the conference tournament with a 2-0 victory in Oxford as the Rebels reclaimed the Magnolia Cup.
State ended the season 6-10-1 overall and 3-7-1 in SEC play. The Dawgs wrapped up the season with their most conference wins since 2004, including upsets of two ranked foes for the first time since the 2003 campaign.
“We’re capable of playing our best soccer any time we play and I don’t think we were able to say that a couple years ago,” Macdonald said.
Both teams battled to a scoreless opening half, but the Rebels (8-10-1 overall, 4-7-0 SEC) took the win with Mandy McCalla goals in the 68th and 83rd minutes.
The conference win total is the most since Macdonald took over the head coaching position in Starkville.
By building the program up from an afterthought in one of the most talented leagues in the conference, the expectations continue to rise.
“I think it’s obvious we need to qualify for the conference tournament and continue to improve from where we are now but I’m convinced Neil has a plan to do that,” MSU Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin said.
Stricklin and Macdonald are publicly both in agreement that the funding needs to be in place for a new fieldhouse near the MSU Soccer
Field in the near future but the support is in place for the program to continue its rebuilding process.
“I think are objectives are the same and that’s simply to win,” Macdonald said. “I think we have the most talent since I’ve been here and as those players develop, it will continue to result in more wins.”
Macdonald, who has stressed a defensive mentality in his MSU program, saw his squad’s goals against average go down by over a goal per contest leading to more competitive matches in SEC play. This style of play led to shutout wins over ranked opponents Auburn and Florida throughout the course of the regular season.
“I think the difference in our season came in the weekend after the Auburn and Alabama matches where we got two top quality programs at home and left with a win and a tie,” Macdonald said. “I think that showed that no only can we play at the level defensively needed to compete in this league but can win against the best as well.”
The main reason for the strong defensive play is the play of junior goalkeeper Junior goalkeeper Skylar Rosson after she led the SEC in saves and was in the Top 10 nationally with 131 saves, the second-most in MSU history. The Edmond, Okla., native will enter her senior campaign with a school third-most 249 stops.
“I can’t say enough positive things about her as a player or a person in this program,” Macdonald said. “She’s somebody that wants to lead and wants to be here and most importantly wants to see this program succeed while she’s here. The fact she’ll be back next year is a comfort no question.”
The problem has been the offensive production going down to less than a goal a contest off 14 shots per contest. What the statistics tell Macdonald is not that his team can’t control the ball or get into the attack zone but have trouble finishing.
“We need to get better with our final touch so it’s a quality chance and that will lead to more goals,” Macdonald said. “It’s not a problem that the players we have coming back can’t do it, it’s just something we need to stress to the team we have.”
In a more national and even international range of recruiting, MSU will likely have only three in-state players on the 2012 roster and will be bringing two Canadian recruits into the program to join the pair of true freshmen from Ontario.
“I think we’re trying to raise the level of soccer in the state of Mississippi,” Macdonald said. “We hope that happens but our administration understands we need a large pool of talent to draw for to win at Mississippi State.”
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