Alabama Soccer Nets a Pair of Late Goals but Falls Short at Mississippi State, 5-2

Sunday, October 7

Starkville, Miss.

1 p.m CT

Alabama

7-7-1, 1-5-0

Mississippi State

9-3-1, 2-3-1

Alabama

Mississippi State

Alabama Soccer Nets a Pair of Late Goals but Falls Short at Mississippi State, 5-2

10/7/2018 5:41:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Mississippi State Box Score

Riley Mattingly scores her first career goal and Tori Gan records her first goal of the season

STARKVILLE, MISS. – The Alabama soccer team had a strong second half showing, but could not overcome Mississippi State, falling 5-2 Sunday afternoon. Riley Mattingly and Tori Gann accounted for the Tide's two goals, scoring back-to-back for the final goals of the game. The Crimson Tide fell behind early and never recovered as it dropped to 7-7-1 on the year and 1-5-0 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Bulldogs improve to 9-3-1 overall and 2-3-1 SEC.

"There's nothing that surprised me about Mississippi State today," head coach Wes Hart stated. "We knew they were athletic, physical, and were going to be hard to beat. We knew that their most dangerous opportunities would come by way of set pieces. All five of their goals were scored that way today. This is an area we've struggled in lately and something we need to get better at if we want to make up some ground in SEC."

The Bulldogs took the lead less than three minutes into the match, as Niah Johnson rebounded a header to tap-in for the first goal of the game.

In the 25^th minute, Carly Mauldin capitalized off an inbound play to head in her first of two goals for the day. Mississippi State continued to increase their lead going into half by scoring two more goals. Zakirah McGillivary slipped one in the net, and Mauldin tallied her second goal of the game to boost the cushion.

The Crimson Tide made adjustments at halftime, and it paid off in the 68th minute when freshman Mattingly put the Tide on the scoreboard after taking a pass from senior Emma Welch. The goal was Mattingly's first career goal. Welch, meanwhile, collected her fourth assist of the season and 23^rd of her career.

Alabama was able to put pressure on the Mississippi State backline as the game moved toward the finish line. In the final minute of play, senior Gann pushed a shot past the Bulldog's goalkeeper for her first goal of the season. Despite the score, sophomore Alex Plavin made seven saves on the road.

Alabama's halftime maneuvers resulted in the Tide doubling its shots in the second half (2-5), while limiting the Bulldogs to nine fewer second half shot attempts. For the game, however, the Tide was outshot, 23-7, and put up four fewer corner kicks (6-2) than Mississippi State.

The Crimson Tide will take the rest of the week off before hosting Florida Sunday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m. CT. Admission is free for all fans, and the contest can be seen on SEC Network+.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaSoccer on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaSoccer on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.