.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tennessee Slips By Ole Miss Soccer, 1-0
10/17/2008 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. Coming in with identical 3-3 records in Southeastern Conference play, Tennessee edged ahead of Ole Miss in the overall league standings Friday night, as the Rebels (5-8-2, 3-4 SEC) dropped a 1-0 decision to the Lady Volunteers (7-8, 4-3 SEC) at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
Lady Vol star forward Kylee Rossi scored her league-leading 11th goal of the year at the 63:31 mark in the second half for the only score of the match. After an Ole Miss foul, Tennessee's Devon Swaim bounced her free kick off the crossbar, and the carom went to Rossi, who headed the ball just inside the right post for what would be the game-winner.
"I thought our team played very well tonight," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. "It was a great match. We knew it was going to be a tough battle, and that's what it was. Oftentimes a game that's close comes down to a free kick, and that's what happened tonight. We certainly had our chances, too, some point-blank chances inside of 10 yards, and we hit the ball right to their keeper. We can't let opportunities like that pass us by, and to not score a goal in this match cost us."
One of the best Ole Miss chances actually came with only 28 seconds remaining in the match, when Tennessee was whistled for a foul that gave the Rebels a free kick from about 20 yards away, just outside the penalty box. Danielle Johnson served the ball toward a couple of Ole Miss players in the box, but it was headed away by a UT defender to preserve the final 1-0 outcome.
The Friday night showdown was one of the more physical matches the Rebels have been a part of this season. There were 28 total fouls (16 for Tennessee, 12 for Ole Miss) and a pair of yellow cards on Tennessee players that slowed the game down at times and caused several players on both sides to get banged up a bit.
"The number of fouls tonight resulted in a lot of dangerous free kicks," Holeman said. "We know Tennessee is very good on free kicks, and we're good as well, but we just didn't capitalize on ours and they did. It was definitely a physical game."
Freshman goalkeeper Alley Ronaldi, playing in just her second collegiate match, surrendered only one goal while collecting five saves, including a great diving grab, in the losing effort. UT keeper Jaimel Johnson earned the win with a shutout and three saves. Tennessee produced 15 shots, while Ole Miss had 11 on the evening.
Ole Miss fell in defeat to Tennessee for the second straight year after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Oxford in 2006.
The Rebels will look to rebound against Georgia in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday. The Peach State's Bulldogs earned a 1-0 win over the Bulldogs from Mississippi State on Friday night.
