The Mississippi State women’s soccer team fell in its final tune up Saturday, falling to Southern Mississippi 1-0 in Starkville in an exhibition match.
Southern Mississippi’s Olivia Durham notched the go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute with a goal off a rebound chance.
Durham was set up after Hailey Pohevitz got clear for a point-blank header that required MSU freshman keeper Katie Moore to make a leaping save, but the ball deflected directly to Durham about two yards shy of the goal line where she dribbled it across for the lone goal of the match.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing to lose a game that we controlled for large durations of time in terms of possession,” head coach James Armstrong said in a news release. “Credit to Southern Miss. They were well-organized, and they capitalized on the chance that they got. Something that we’ve got to learn from is being able to dominate both boxes and take care of the details, but we will learn from that as a group and as a staff.”
Moore finished with two saves as MSU held USM to just three shots on goal. The Bulldogs fired 18 shots with six on target and held 61 percent of the possession.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on the field,” Armstrong added. “It was a fantastic home crowd. We really appreciated all of those guys coming out in the hot weather, and hopefully they’ll give us a chance to show them what we’re all about on Thursday.”
MSU opens the regular season 6 p.m. Thursday against Alabama A&M in Starkville. The contest is set to air on SEC Network+.
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