The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Soccer Prepares For UCF Invitational
9/1/2005 | Soccer
Sept. 1, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - Head coach Steve Holeman's Ole Miss soccer team is 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season and will look to extend their season-opening winning streak as they face two tough opponents this weekend at the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
The Rebels will play a Saturday match against host and nationally-ranked No. 27 (Soccer Buzz) UCF, followed by a Labor Day matchup versus defending Mid-American Conference Champion Kent State.
"We have gotten off to a great start with two wins," said Holeman, who is directing the Ole Miss program for the 11th season. "I think Central Florida is going to be our first big test. They are one of the top teams in the state of Florida, and this is our first road trip. We're looking forward to being able to just focus on soccer and focus on Central Florida."
Over the season-opening weekend, Ole Miss was led by a dominating defense that surrendered just one goal and eight total shots to Tennessee Tech and Iowa State, while freshman Amanda Verkin and sophomore Chrissy Strini provided the scoring in both matches.
The Rebels won their first two games without the services of senior forward Kelly Renie and junior defender Elise Karlowicz, both starters on last year's club who were nursing injuries. Both are expected to return to action in Orlando.
The Golden Knights of UCF had an outstanding 2004 campaign, during which they defeated all eight schools they faced from the state of Florida, including national powers Florida and Florida State. This season, UCF is 1-1 after losing to Pepperdine and defeating UC Santa Barbara on its season-opening trip to California.
The Kent State Golden Flashes opened up their 2005 campaign against No. 10 Ohio State last Friday, and were edged out 2-1 by the Buckeyes. Kent State came back on Sunday to defeat Cleveland State and move their record to 1-1.
"Based on their performance against a great Ohio State team, we are expecting a very good game and a great challenge," said Holeman of the Golden Flashes. "We'll take a day to recover from Central Florida and regroup."
The Rebels have faced neither the Golden Knights nor the Golden Flashes in their 11-year history.
Saturday's match is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, while the Rebels wrap up the trip after a 10 a.m. CT contest on Monday.
Ole Miss will return to Oxford for a Thursday, Sept. 8 match against Saint Louis, followed by a much-anticipated non-conference game against Florida State set for Sunday, Sept. 11.
