The Mississippi State women’s soccer season came to an end in round one of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday as the Bulldogs dropped a round-one home game, 1-0, to Lipscomb.
In what was a defensive battle, Lipscomb (15-5-2) found the match’s lone goal on a breakaway chance via Bella Carapazza midway through the first half. From then on, the Bisons managed to keep Mississippi State (12-7-1) scoreless on 18 shots and advance in the postseason.
“Credit to Lipscomb, really well-coached and made it really difficult for us,” Mississippi State first-year head coach Nick Zimmerman said. “They sat in, and sometimes that’s the way football is. It’s cruel. You create a lot of good chances, and Lipscomb’s goalkeeper made some incredible saves.”
The win for Lipscomb not only ruined Mississippi State’s chance at winning a round-one game three years in a row, advancing to the Sweet 16 in both 2023 and 2024, but was also the second win for the Bisons over the Bulldogs in NCAA Tournament play. Lipscomb got the best of Mississippi State in two overtimes in 2018.
Leading the Bulldogs this year was redshirt sophomore Ally Perry with a team-best 24 points, including eight goals and an SEC-leading eight assists. Junior Zoe Main had six goals while junior Kyra Taylor and freshman Tatum Borman had four apiece. Borman’s classmate, Laila Murillo, added three goals. Sophomore Sarah Wommack was consistently strong inside the goal with 43 saves and four shutouts, although junior Jenny Harrison got the start against Lipscomb.
“I’m really proud of this group and everything they’ve accomplished this year, their willingness to continue to work and to be intentional every single day,” Zimmerman continued. “I can’t say enough great things about them. Not the result we wanted, but we talk about performance over results. Tonight, they gave everything they had and just came a little bit short.”