Trojan Soccer Falls to Mississippi State

Friday, September 3

Troy, AL

3:00 p.m.

Troy University

Mississippi State University

Photo by: Troy University

9/3/2010 5:47:05 PM | Soccer

Troy gives up early goal in loss, gear up for Austin Peay on Sunday

By: Ben Maxwell

Box Score

TROY, Ala. – The Troy University soccer team faced Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State University Friday afternoon in the second annual Trojan Classic soccer tournament, and after giving up an early goal were able to battle with the Bulldogs. A late goal gave Mississippi State a 2-0 victory at the Trojan Soccer Complex.

“Today we showed we can play with the bigger schools,” said head coach Chris Bentley. “We just need to work on the mentality that we can compete with those schools each time we step on the field with them.”

Troy came out strong and confident against the Bulldogs, but fell behind in the ninth minute to an impressive individual effort by Mississippi State forward Jasmine Simmons, who was able to bring down a bad pass and beat two defenders on the way to the goal. The goal was the first goal the Trojans have allowed by the opposing team this season.

Despite the early set back the Trojans showed great heart as they battled back against the Bulldogs' attack with five of their own shots in the first half, while holding Mississippi State to only three.

The Trojans found another promising break in the 40th minute as forward Ruth Sutcliffe was awarded a penalty kick, after being pulled down in the box. However, she hit the crossbar and was unable to get the rebound to go through.

“I told her the best players in the game miss penalty kicks," Bentley said. "I told her she needed to keep her head up and play on.”

The Trojans came out the second half just as strong, as they attempted to take advantage of eight penalties committed by the Bulldogs. The Trojans had two chances to equalize the match on free kicks and then on two shots late in the contest. Mary Morris had, possibly, the best opportunity as she missed a shot from the left side of the pitch just inside the box, as the shot clanged off the crossbar.

The score would remain 1-0 until the final seconds of the match when the official called a foul just inside the box as time expired. However, the call was awarded to the the Bulldogs and two seconds were put back on the clock. The Bulldogs were given a penalty kick, and they capitalized on it for the final margin.

“We played well as a group,” Bentley said. “We have been able to fix some things, but now we need to fix some other things before Sunday.”

Troy (1-2) must get over the loss, as they now focus on preparing for their seond match of the tournament against Austin Peay on Sunday.

“This loss won't affect us to much for the rest of the tournament, we just need to come back strong,” said Bentley. “We will focus on mainly rest and recovery to prepare in a short period of time.”

Troy will be back in action on Sunday at 3 p.m. as they take on Austin Peay in the final game of the Trojan Classic. Admission is free to all Troy home soccer matches. Follow Troy Athletics on Twitter @TroyAthletics, and become a fan on Facebook.

The Troy University Athletics Media Relations Office will provide a live web stream of both games on Friday and the last game on Sunday due to conflicts with the volleyball tournament taking place at Sartain Hall at the same time on the final day.

Fans can purchase All-Access on TroyTrojans.com with four different packages available. The packages include a daily pass for $5.95, a recurring monthly pass for $9.95 per month, sport package for $24.95 and an annual pass to be able to watch every event streamed on TroyTrojans.com for $89.95.