Mississippi State Rises to No. 4 in Rankings, Highest in SEC

The Bulldogs' elite defense propels Mississippi State to No. 4 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings after a stunning 1-0 win over No. 1 Arkansas

Mississippi State Soccer / Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State Ranked No. 4 in Latest TopDrawerSoccer Ranking

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State became the highest ranked SEC team in women’s soccer Monday morning with TopDrawerSoccer’s Top 25 Ranking.

After beating then-No. 1 Arkansas 1-0 last week, the Bulldogs (10-1-0, 4-0 SEC) moved up to No. 4 in the rankings (the Hogs fell to No. 6) and are behind three ACC schools at the top of the rankings.

North Carolina is the newest No. 1 team after Mississippi State knocked off Arkansas. The only team to score more than one goal on the Bulldogs and win, Wake Forest, is No. 2 and Duke is No. 3.

Bulldogs' Defense Leading the Way

The Bulldogs rise in the rankings has been fueled by its nation’s best scoring defense that’s registered a .200 goals-against average this season. Goalkeeper Maddy Anderson ranks second in FBS with a .207 GAA and in save percentage (.917) while playing twice as many games as the top-ranked keeper. Anderson’s eight shutouts also ranks second in FBS.

The Bulldogs have a pair of games on the docket for this week. On Thursday, Mississippi State will travel to Georgia for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff. On Sunday, Mississippi State will host Missouri with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. Both matches can be seen on SEC Network+.

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