Mississippi State soccer earns 1-seed in NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament

Mississippi State soccer is having the best season in program history. They were dominant throughout the entire year, rolling through the SEC on the way to the program's first ever league championship. And despite a slip-up in the SEC Tournament, they are unquestionably one of the very best teams in the country.

Now, we turn our attention to what matters most: competiting for a national championship. The NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament begins this weekend, and on Monday, the Bulldogs learend their draw.

Mississippi State soccer is a 1-seed in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament

There was no doubt Bulldog soccer would be one of the higher-seeded teams in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The question was just how high they would be seeded. Most felt confident that Mississippi State had done enough to have earned a coveted 1-seed, but some doubt still existed going into selection day with seven teams vying for four spots.

Fortunately, State was in the favor of the committee, as the Bulldogs were in fact named a 1-seed on Monday. A 17-win season the included a perfect record in regular season SEC play and conference title coupled with fantastic metrics proved to be enough for State to be one of the four highest-seeded teams in the country. The other 1-seeds were Duke, USC, and Florida State.

Bulldogs will host Southern University in Starkville on Saturday

Mississippi State soccer will host the Southern University Jaguars in Starkville Saturday night at 5:00 PM CT for the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.

Southern is 9-9-1 on the season. They captured the SWAC tournament championship to secure their spot in the bracket for the first time in school history. State and Southern have one true common opponent. State defeated Ole Miss 2-0, while the Jaguars lost to the Rebels 4-0. Technically, both teams competed against ULM, though State's match was an exhibition which they won 5-0 while Southern lost a regular season game to the Warhawks 2-0.

Mississippi State placed in very difficult quadrant

Earning the 1-seed means the Bulldogs have homefield advantage all the way through the Elite Eight. However, the path to that point won't be easy.

Mississippi State's initial grouping features a red-hot Utah State team and a traditionally strong Washington program. SEC rival Arkansas is the 2-seed, and powerhouse programs Notre Dame and Stanford are in their quadrant. Getting through all those teams would undoubtedly be a test.

But the good news is the Bulldogs shown they're more than capable of playing with everyone, and with any possible game being played in Starkville, the path is there to a Final Four.