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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Soccer Weekend Notes
10/17/2001 | Soccer
Oct. 17, 2001
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OLE MISS: Overall: 8-5-1, SEC: 3-1
vs. KENTUCKY (10/19 at 7 p.m. CST)
vs. VANDERBILT (10/21 at 3 p.m. CST, FOX Sports Net)
OLE MISS SOCCER STADIUM (OXFORD, MISS.)
Ole Miss continues its four-game homestand this weekend against Kentucky (8-5, 2-3 SEC) and Vanderbilt (4-6, 2-3 SEC). The Rebels did not face either team in 2000, and will be looking for their first ever wins against the two programs. Ole Miss is 0-4 all-time against the Wildcats and 0-3 all-time against the Commodores. UM is 6-1-1 over its last eight games, and leading the SEC Western Division with a 3-1 league record, 8-5-1 overall.
SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Melinda Smith is this week's SEC Player of the Week, and the first Rebel to receive the honor this season. The senior goalkeeper from Tacoma, Wash., led Ole Miss to a pair of 1-0 shutout victories over Alabama and Auburn last weekend. Smith did not allow a goal against the Crimson Tide, the SEC's top-ranked offense and second-ranked in the nation. She collected eight saves in the two wins and has allowed only one score in her last 269:57 - all coming in league play.
ON THE LITTLE SCREEN: The Rebels are 1-7 all-time in televised games. After going winless in the program's first six TV appearances, Ole Miss broke the drought a year ago with a 3-2 victory at Georgia on FOX Sports Net. The Rebels also faced Tennessee in a television game last year, losing 3-0 in Knoxville on the now-defunct CSSE (College Sports Southeast) network.
PUTTING ON THEIR SUNDAY BEST: With last weekend's 1-0 win over Auburn, Ole Miss remains a perfect 5-0 on Sundays, and have outscored their opponents, 8-1, on the first day of the week. The Rebels posted a 4-3 mark on Sundays last season.
CLOSE CALLS: The Rebels' last three matches - all wins - have been decided by one goal. Ole Miss has gone 4-2 in one-goal games this season with two of those wins coming in overtime. UM has played three overtime matches this year and posted an impressive 2-0-1 record.
SONIC YOUTH: Four or more freshmen have been in the Ole Miss starting lineup in all but one game this season. Freshman defender Ramey Rush is one of only three players on the team to have started every game. Ten of the Rebels' 21 roster spots are filled by freshmen.
RANKED OPPONENTS: Ole Miss is 0-1 vs. ranked opponents in 2001, having lost at No. 4 Virginia, 3-0, in the UM season-opener. However, the Rebels have faced two other foes that were previously ranked in the nation's top 25. Ole Miss lost 3-1 at Arizona State, which was 22nd in the preseason poll, and UM posted a 1-0 win over Auburn, which has risen as high as 21st in the rankings. Still remaining on the slate, the Rebels have No. 11 Florida on Oct. 28. ALL-TIME LIFESAVER: With her six saves against Auburn, Melinda Smith took over as the Rebels' all-time leader in career saves with 198, passing Birna Bjornsdottir (1997-99) with her 196. Smith is already the UM career leader in GK wins, shutouts and goals-against average.
INJURY BUG: Ole Miss has lost three of its members this season to torn anterior cruciate ligaments. Sophomore Erin Edmundson, who had started every game at defender over the last two seasons, is the latest casualty, tearing her ACL late in the first half against Duquesne. She joins junior Megan Bowman, who went down in the Northern Arizona game and recently underwent surgery, and freshman Kelly Renie, who suffered the injury in May and had surgery in June.
PACKING THE SEATS: The Ole Miss-Alabama game last Friday drew a crowd of 971 - the second-highest single-game attendance in Ole Miss Soccer Stadium history. The largest crowd ever at the Oxford stadium came Sept. 11, 1998, when 1,133 fans watched the Rebels defeat LSU, 5-1.
SEC SCORING RECORD: In the 11-0 home-opening win over Alabama A&M on Wednesday, Ole Miss broke an SEC record for goals in a half with eight first-half scores, breaking the previous high of seven that both UM and Georgia had established in 1996. The Rebels' 35 shots tied the fourth highest single-game total in SEC history. The 11 goals was the third highest single-game tally by an Ole Miss squad. Nine different Rebels netted goals, led by sophomore Tiffany Weiss' three scores. It was the first career hat trick for Weiss and the 15th in UM soccer history. Junior Anna Sanders collected four assists in the contest, tying Ole Miss' third-highest mark.
THRICE AS NICE: Junior Courtney Biddle and freshman Lindley Beckman ran off simultaneous three-game scoring streaks earlier this season. After both connecting against Alabama A&M, the duo netted both of the Rebel goals in the 2-2 tie with UTEP and followed up with the same feat in the 2-0 win over Duquesne. Biddle came off the bench to pick up all three of her scores.
TOURNAMENT WINNERS: Ole Miss won its third straight regular season tournament this season at the UAB Nike Classic in Birmingham, Ala. The Rebels went 2-0 against TCU, 2-0, and host UAB, 2-1 in overtime, to take first place.
GATORADE P-O-Y: Ole Miss has three former Gatorade Players of the Year on its roster. Freshman Mary Katherine Ulmer took the 2001 honor for Mississippi, freshman Kristal Menard for Kentucky in 2000, and junior Kristin Chapman for Mississippi in 1998 and 1999.
HELLO MOTHER: Three of the UM players' mothers went to high school together. The mothers of freshmen Ramey Rush, Liz Holder and Mary Katherine Ulmer all attended Meridian High School in Meridian, Miss., at the same time.
