By Kelsey Mattingly

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The UK women’s soccer team will aim to continue its attack on the goal and convert its missed attempts from a draw against Vanderbilt when the team goes on the road to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday.

UK

Record: 9-2-3

Ranked: 20

Goals scored: 28

Goals allowed: 10

Player to watch: Michaela Dooley

The junior forward has proven her ability to score time and time again. Dooley might not average as many minutes as her teammates, but when she is on the field, she has a knack for finding the back of the net. A 50 percent shooter with a 100 percent average on shots-on-goal, Dooley will be a key ingredient in UK’s match against MSU.

Preview

UK is fresh off of a draw in its game against Vanderbilt on Friday night. The team had its eighth clean sheet of the season, but failed to convert 25 shots and 13 corner kicks into a goal. The Cats will look to continue their attack on the goal, this time with increased accuracy to pull out a win against the Bulldogs. This should be a promising game for UK since it hasn’t struggled on the road and MSU is not seen as a top competitor. If the Cats can work around the Bulldogs’ goalie, Tanya de Souza, to get the ball in the net, they should be able to get another win.

Mississippi State

Record: 3-7-3

Goals scored: 11

Goals allowed: 18

Player to watch: Tanya de Souza

The goalkeeper has proven to be the Bulldogs’ saving grace. She’s totaled 51 saves on the season, one of the highest in the conference. UK has been struggling to score as of late and de Souza will do her best to keep it that way. Averaging to save 73 percent of opponents shots-on-goal, she knows how to protect the goal and will have to in order to bring MSU a win against the Cats.

Preview

The Mississippi State Bulldogs have failed to see a win in three Sundays, so they’ll look to take advantage of UK on their home field. After a 0-2 loss at Georgia on Friday, MSU could use a pick me up, but it’s going to be difficult to do so against a ranked UK team. The Bulldogs are feeling the pressure as their conference ranking continues to slip following their piling losses, which can only mean they’re hungrier for a victory.