Rebels and Gamecocks Tie 0-0

COLUMBIA, S.C. The Ole Miss soccer team (7-5-4, 3-1-4 SEC) played for 110 minutes on the road at South Carolina (10-5-2, 4-2-2 SEC), but the match between two of the top teams in the Southeastern Conference ended in a scoreless draw on Sunday afternoon at Stone Stadium.

The Rebels collected their fifth shutout of the SEC campaign, while extending a school record with their fourth tie of the year. The Rebels have battled to overtime five times in eight league games.

“Sunday road games are always tough,” said Rebel head coach Steve Holeman. “South Carolina is a very good team. It was a hard-fought match by both teams. It’s great to get a shutout over a very good team, and to get a point on the road in the SEC is not bad, either.”

A very even first half ended with a 0-0 score, but not without some close chances.

Ole Miss got its first close call in the 18^th minute when junior midfielder Chrissy Strini appeared to score her first goal of the season. After a South Carolina foul, Strini set up for a free kick from the corner of the penalty box. She fired a shot to the upper 90 inside the far post, but the chance was ruled an indirect kick, which meant the ball had to touch another player in order for the score to count, so the match remained scoreless.

The Rebels produced another chance in the 33^rd minute when Christine Breaux hit the crossbar off a Brittney Potts corner kick by the far post, but it fell back harmlessly into play.

South Carolina managed a few opportunities in the closing minutes of the first period, with their closest being a goal that was called back when the Gamecock player was deemed offsides.

At the half, South Carolina led in shots taken by a 6-4 count. Junior goalkeeper Ann Shelton recorded three saves in the half for Ole Miss, while Gamecock keeper Lindsay Thorstenson grabbed a pair.

“In the first half, we did not play our best soccer,” Holeman said, “but I was happy that we came out and played extremely well and extremely hard in the second half and both overtimes. We were able to create several scoring opportunities, we just have to do a better job of finishing.”

More midfield possession by both teams dominated the second half, as South Carolina managed just four shots to the Rebels’ three, while the squads battled it out with a pair of steady defenses.

Ole Miss controlled possession throughout the first overtime period, leading in shots 1-0, while the second overtime featured more offense as both teams attempted to push through a goal for a victory.

After the Gamecocks mounted a couple of scoring opportunities, a South Carolina player was called for a foul with just 12 seconds remaining in the match. Unlike a previous Rebel match vs. LSU, the official stopped the clock and allowed the Rebels to take a free kick to finish out the game. Senior defender Lyndsey Williams served a ball to sophomore midfielder Jennifer Hance’s head, but South Carolina knocked it back the other way and the game ended with no goals.

For the match, South Carolina took 13 shots to Ole Miss’ eight, while the Rebels had six shots on goal to just four for the Gamecocks.

Shelton was rewarded for her outstanding play in goal with her fifth shutout of the season and fourth in conference play. With one more shutout, she would pass current assistant coach Melinda Smith for second play on the all-time Rebel chart. Shelton currently owns 14 career shutouts.

The Rebels will conclude a five-match road swing with a Friday game at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. before returning to Oxford for Senior Day against Kentucky on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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