The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Soccer Dominates Alabama Foes In Spring Exhibition Matches
3/5/2007 | Soccer
The Rebels previously defeated
“This was a really good spring weekend for us,” said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. “We possessed the ball well, finished our opportunities and played solid defense. Last fall we had trouble scoring, so it was nice to see us score seven goals in two games against good opponents.”
The Rebels have knocked off three successful teams to start the spring schedule. The Samford and UAB programs have each advanced to the NCAA Tournament within the last two years, while MTSU boasted a 17-4 record a year ago.
Ole Miss led 1-0 at halftime in each match over the weekend, before exploding for three second-half goals against the Bulldogs and two vs. the Blazers.
A balanced Rebel attack included two goals each by Amy Gill and Jennifer Hance and one apiece by Austin Brown, Mallory Coleman and Hannah Weatherly.
Against Samford, Brown gave the Rebels a 1-0 advantage with a 30-yard strike from the right flank into the far upper corner. Ole Miss came out of the locker room on fire in the second period as Gill beat the Bulldog goalkeeper on a 50-50 ball off a Hance assist before Hance scored one of her own on a pass from Christine Breaux. Coleman rounded out the barrage when she took an Amanda Verkin pass and knocked an 18-yarder past the keeper.
Ole Miss continued its hot play against a tough Blazer squad in game two. Hance gave the Rebels the lead in the first half when Verkin slid a ball behind the defense to set up Hance’s shot around the keeper and inside the far post. In the second period, Gill also got behind the defense and took a dish from Amy Bayles and put it past the keeper. Weatherly finished off the Rebel scoring when she tallied her first spring goal with an assist from Coleman. UAB scored a late goal with about six minutes remaining to prevent the shutout.
Ole Miss takes off the next two weekends for spring break before returning to competition on Saturday, March 24, with a pair of home matches against Memphis at 10 a.m. and Louisiana-Monroe at 4 p.m.
