Ole Miss Soccer Shuts Out Memphis 3-0

OXFORD, Miss. The Rebel offense continued to shine and the defense pitched a shutout as Ole Miss was victorious over the Memphis Tigers 3-0 at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium on Sunday.

The Rebels improved to 3-3 on the early season, while the Tigers also stand at 3-3 after six matches.

“Memphis is a rivalry for us,” said Rebel head coach Steve Holeman. “They are only an hour away, so we play them basically every year. You can almost count on it being a battle between two very physical teams. I’m happy that our team was prepared both mentally and physically. We have to have the mental aspects down, and we did today. It is good that we can come out here and be prepared to play in any kind of conditions, no matter what they are.”

The three-goal output for Ole Miss was its second straight after a 3-1 win over Southern Miss on Friday.

Freshman forward Hannah Weatherly gave the Rebels an early 1-0 lead in the 10^th minute when junior forward Christine Liberto led Weatherly with a pass to the right side and the rookie nailed a kick to the left of the keeper for her second goal of the season.

The Rebels took a 2-0 lead when senior Brittney Potts netted her third goal of the year at the 27:55 mark with a deep shot from about 20 yards over the Memphis goalkeeper’s jumping try. Liberto also recorded that assist with a cross to Potts.

Ole Miss out-shot Memphis 6-2 in the first period and 11-9 in the game.

The second half, which was much more physical than the first half (21 total fouls in the second after 14 in the first), saw the Rebels tack on one more goal with about nine minutes left in regulation.

Sophomore Amanda Verkin tapped in her first goal of the season with an easy score after Weatherly streaked down the right side of the field past a Memphis defender and crossed to the wide-open Verkin with the Memphis keeper already sliding.

Junior goalkeeper Ann Shelton recorded her second shutout of the season and the 10^th of her Rebel career, tying her for third all-time with Birna Bjornsdottir (1997-99). The Tullahoma, Tenn., native nabbed a season-high six saves in the process.

Ole Miss will return to the field on Friday with a 7 p.m. match in Oxford against highly-respected region opponent SMU, followed by a Sunday match against Arkansas Little-Rock at 1 p.m.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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