Soccer Year In Review

The 2006 season was a year of close calls for the Ole Miss soccer team. The Rebels were inches and seconds away from repeating as Southeastern Conference Western Division champions and returning to the NCAA Tournament, but those goals were just out of reach after an up-and-down season.

There were many bright spots, though, for an Ole Miss team that finished one point behind Auburn in the final SEC West standings. Individually, junior midfielder Chrissy Strini earned first team All-SEC honors for the second straight year, while sophomore midfielder Jennifer Hance and freshman defender Danielle Johnson were tabbed to the second team. Johnson was also named to the SEC All-Freshman squad.

The program continued to display a strong academic presence, as senior Lyndsey Williams was named SEC Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year along with Tennessee’s Ali Christoph. Williams was one of three Rebels to make the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District team, which included junior goalkeeper Ann Shelton and Strini.

Year after year the Rebels bring in a talented freshman class, and 2006 was no different as Johnson and forward Hannah Weatherly were key full-time starters. The duo scored 11 of Ole Miss’ 31 goals on the year, and each was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s All-Rookie national second team.

Close Calls

Unlike 2005 when almost all of the close decisions went the Rebels’ way, Ole Miss suffered through a myriad of close calls on its way to an 8-7-5 overall record and 4-2-5 SEC mark in 2006.

“This was a tough season for us,” said Steve Holeman, who owns a 131-95-18 record as the only head coach in Ole Miss soccer history. “For some reason, we were not able to finish a lot of our opportunities this year like we were able to last year. We also ran into some tough breaks. I can’t recall how many times we hit the crossbar this year, but it was a lot. We also had several big goals called back when we thought we had scored. It all made for a tough season, but we did some good things, too.”

It all started when No. 3 Notre Dame, which has not lost a match all year and has spent nearly the entire season as the nation’s top-ranked team, traveled to Oxford and handed the Rebels a 2-1 defeat. The Rebels were one of four teams all year to hold the Irish within one goal and one of just six squads to score against the Notre Dame defense.

Ole Miss then made a trip to Colorado which saw the Rebels drop games to NCAA Tournament teams Denver and Colorado. The three-game losing streak was the first for Ole Miss since the 2001 campaign.

One of the Rebels’ closest losses all year was a 3-2 defeat to another NCAA Tourney squad, SMU, on Sept. 15 in Oxford. Despite a 2-0 lead in the second half and a 17-7 final shot advantage (including 8-4 shots-on-goal advantage), the Rebels were unable to hold off a late Mustang charge.

The Rebels got it rolling in conference play with a 2-0-1 start, including a tie against No. 8 Tennessee and a 3-0 victory over No. 25 Georgia. Ole Miss did not lose a league match until its seventh try, which was a 1-0 loss in overtime at No. 17 Florida.

Several of the Rebels’ record-breaking five ties, however, could have just as easily been Rebel wins with a slightly different bounce of the ball. Ole Miss had a pair of goals called back in overtime in a 1-1 tie vs. LSU, as well as a goal called back in a 0-0 draw at South Carolina and a scoreless draw vs. Kentucky.

The Rebels’ SEC Tournament loss was a microcosm of the entire season. Ole Miss out-shot Kentucky 18-5 and got two goals from Hance, but the Wildcats scored three times to end the Rebels’ season.

Tough Schedule

Before the season began, Holeman said that his staff had built the most challenging non-conference schedule in the program’s 12-year history.

That proved true at season’s end when 10 Rebel opponents made the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. Non-conference foes Colorado, Denver, Notre Dame and SMU, as well as exhibition opponent Oklahoma State, all reached the second round of the tournament. Five SEC teams made the field, including Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Ole Miss had four ties against those teams during the regular season.

Twelve of the Rebels’ 20 opponents made an appearance in a national poll during the 2006 season. Listed here with their highest ranking of the season: Notre Dame (1), Oklahoma State (7), Tennessee (8), Auburn (10), Florida (10), Colorado (11), Georgia (15), Kentucky (15), SMU (15), Vanderbilt (19), Denver (29) and South Carolina (29).

Outstanding Defense

The 2006 Rebels were once again led by their stellar defense, which ranked first in the SEC with a 0.41 goals-against average in conference play. Ole Miss tied Kentucky for the fewest goals allowed in league play with five. The Rebels collected seven shutouts in 11 league games, giving them 15 over the past two seasons.

Junior goalkeeper Ann Shelton continued her strong play between the posts by leading the SEC with a 0.42 GAA. The Tullahoma, Tenn., native moved past her coach and former Rebel keeper Melinda Smith on the all-time shutouts list with 16 in her Ole Miss career.

Two Years of Dominating Soccer

Ole Miss was unable to reach its main goals in 2006, but the Rebels still have a lot to hang their hats on. In the last two years, Ole Miss has lost just three times in 22 conference matches, which is tied with Florida for the best mark during that span. The Rebels are 12-3-7 against SEC opponents during the regular season the past two years.

Between Sept. 25, 2005 and Oct. 13, 2006, Ole Miss went undefeated (10-0-5) in 15 straight regular-season SEC matches. That was the longest streak since Auburn was unbeaten in 19 matches from Oct. 10, 2003 to Sept. 23, 2005.

Looking Into the Future

Ole Miss loses a successful class of five seniors to graduation, but returns a talented nucleus of athletes for next year’s squad.

Gone are two of the top scorers in school history in Brittney Potts and Kelly Renie, who finished their Rebel careers with 26 and 32 goals, respectively. Also gone is a four-year starter at center back in Lyndsey Williams and key defensive contributors Ashley Ferree and Elise Karlowicz.

“We’re going to miss this talented group of seniors,” Holeman said, “but we also are excited to return so many key players for next year. I think next year’s group is already looking forward to showing what they can do, especially after the sour ending to this season.”

Leading the group of returnees are All-SEC selections Chrissy Strini, Jennifer Hance and Danielle Johnson. Ann Shelton is one of the top goalkeepers in school history, while Christine Breaux, Austin Brown, Amy Gill, Christine Liberto and Hannah Weatherly are all returning starters as well.

2006 Team Leaders

Points

Jennifer Hance (Soph.) 16

Brittney Potts (Sr.) 16

Hannah Weatherly (Fr.) 14

Goals

Brittney Potts (Sr.) 7
Jennifer Hance (Soph.) 6

Hannah Weatherly (Fr.) 6

Assists

1.                  Chrissy Strini (Jr.) 8

2.                  Christine Liberto (Jr.) 6

3.                  Jennifer Hance (Soph.) 4

Shots

1.                  Jennifer Hance (Soph.) 40

2.                  Brittney Potts (Sr.) 36

Hannah Weatherly (Fr.) 36

Minutes Played

1.                  Danielle Johnson (Fr.) 1809

2.                  Lyndsey Williams (Sr.) 1808

3.                  Ann Shelton (Jr.) 1755

2006 Honors and Awards

 

Christine Breaux

Voted “Defensive MVP” by her teammates

 

Stacey Emmonds

Ole Miss Coaches’ Award

Jennifer Hance

All-SEC second team

Danielle Johnson

All-SEC second team

SEC All-Freshman team

TDS All-Rookie national second team

Voted “Most Dedicated” by her teammates

Elise Karlowicz

Voted “Unsung Hero” by her teammates

Cori Mehan

SEC Soccer Community Service team

Brittney Potts

Voted “Offensive MVP” by her teammates

Ann Shelton

ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI second team

Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week (Week 5)

TDS Team of the Week (Week 3)

Chrissy Strini

All-SEC first team

ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI second team

Megan Vickery

Ole Miss Coaches’ Award

Hannah Weatherly

TDS All-Rookie national second team

SEC Freshman of the Week (Week 3)

Lyndsey Williams

SEC Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year

ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI second team

TDS Team of the Week (Week 7)

Voted “Team MVP” by her teammates

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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