The University of Mississippi Athletics
Soccer Takes Road Trip To Georgia And Tennessee
9/22/2005 | Soccer
Sept. 22, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss soccer team (6-2-0) will hit the road for its first Southeastern Conference matches of the season with visits to Athens, Ga., at 7 p.m. ET on Friday and Knoxville, Tenn., at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The Rebels recently took care of Memphis 3-2 and Charlotte 3-0 to wrap up the non-conference schedule with a strong wave of momentum.
"We're excited to get underway with conference play," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. "During the preseason, we talked about breaking this year into two seasons with the non-conference schedule and the conference schedule, so this weekend is a new start for us. We played a competitive non-conference schedule to get us ready for the SEC, and we had some success, so we're very excited."
Ole Miss is 13-11-5 in SEC play over the past three seasons, and will be looking to improve on a 4-5-2 mark from last season. As the seventh seed in last year's SEC Tournament, the Rebels blanked tournament host and nationally-ranked No. 9 Auburn 3-0 to advance to the semifinals for the third time in four years.
With three goals and four assists, sophomore Chrissy Strini continues to lead the Ole Miss offensive attack with 10 points. Freshman Jennifer Hance also has three goals, while adding two assists.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ann Shelton is coming off a stellar week of shutout performances against Memphis and Charlotte, for which she won the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. With Tuesday's match tied 3-2 near the end of the first half, Shelton came into the game and shut down the Tigers to preserve the Rebel victory. She then played the entire match against the 49ers, helping the Rebel defense allow just two shots, both of which were saved by Shelton.
Despite losing their first match of the season on Sunday to Loyola-Marymount, the Georgia Bulldogs (6-1-1) have been one of the hottest teams in the conference under first-year head coach Patrick Baker. The Bulldogs, who have tallied 182 shots and 22 goals in eight games, are led by senior forward Ali Williams, who leads the club with five goals. Erin Sekerak and Caitlin Dingle each have scored three goals.
"Georgia is a very well-coached team," Holeman added. "They've had a great non-conference performance this year, and they are going to be ready for us."
Ole Miss has a 4-5 all-time record against the Bulldogs after defeating Georgia in Oxford 3-1 last season.
The Lady Volunteers of Tennessee (2-4-1) have had the opposite sort of non-conference season as Georgia. The Lady Vols had high preseason expectations, as they were picked by the league coaches to win the Eastern Division, but have fallen short in several one-goal matches in a very demanding non-conference slate. Five of seven opponents thus far in Tennessee's season have been ranked in the top 25.
Tennessee is led by a pair of freshman forwards in Kylee Rossi, who has scored two goals, and Jackie Acevedo, who has racked up four assists.
"Tennessee is a very talented team and will be a big challenge for us. Tennessee and Georgia have both been receiving votes for the top 25 this season, so we will have to play hard and play well on this road trip."
The Lady Vols lead Ole Miss 5-3 in the all-time series after defeating the Rebels 2-1 in Oxford last year.
The Rebels will play their first four conference matches away from home before returning to Oxford for an Oct. 7 contest against Alabama.
