The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Dominate 7 Aside Soccer Tournament
3/24/2004 | Soccer
March 24, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - When the eight-team field of Saturday's Ole Miss 7 Aside Soccer Tournament was narrowed to the finals, only Rebels remained as the two Ole Miss squads won their respective pools, and the tourney was ruled a draw.
"This is always an exciting and fun weekend for us," said Rebel assistant coach Derek Greene, who coached the Ole Miss Red team. "The tournament field this year was very strong, and the staff is extremely proud of both of our teams for advancing to the finals."
Greene's Red squad posted a 3-1 record with a victory over Vanderbilt 4-3 and two wins against a Memphis Tiger squad 2-1 and 4-1 in the semifinals. The Red Rebels' lone defeat came to a group from the Tennessee Under-23 Select Team 3-2.
"For the red team, I thought we played well most of the day," Greene said. "There were times where we had some individuals do some big-time things for us and it showed in our results.
"I thought Kristal Menard was tremendous. It was great to see Brittany Potts' maturity and focus. We were also elated to get Elise Karlowicz and Lindley Beckman back playing after their injuries. They both did very well, and it was nice to finally see them on the field again."
The Ole Miss Blue team, which was under the direction of assistant coach Erin Aubry, also turned in a 3-1 mark, including a 2-1 victory over Vanderbilt in the tournament semifinals. Ole Miss Blue also triumphed over a Rebel alumni team 6-0 and a group from the Germantown Fury club team 3-1, while losing to a team of Memphis Tigers 2-1.
"The Ole Miss blue team played extremely hard today," Aubry said. "Everyone was 'on' and contributed to our success. Karen Hall dominated the midfield in every game and set the competitive tone by playing extremely aggressive and tough. Ashley Hanne also had a tremendous day in terms of her work rate and being an offensive threat on the flank. "Our defense was tough and our offense was dynamic. It was fun to see the entire team play so well."
The Rebels, who are 1-1-1 in full-squad competition, continue their spring season this Saturday with a pair of matches in Huntsville, Ala. Ole Miss faces the Region III ODP team at 8:30 a.m. CT and follows up with ACC-power Clemson at 2 p.m.
