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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Soccer Faces Big SEC West Matchups On The Road
10/15/2009 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 21-ranked Ole Miss soccer team will kick off its second straight road weekend with a matchup of the top two teams in the Southeastern Conference Western Division standings on Friday at No. 15 LSU, followed by a trip to Arkansas on Sunday.
The Rebels enter the weekend with a 9-3-1 overall record and a 3-1-1 mark in league play, which puts them in second place in the SEC West behind LSU, which stands 9-3-2 overall and 5-1 in league action. The teams will square off at 7 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday.
"I think we've done a great job of putting ourselves in a position to compete for an SEC West title," said Rebel head coach Steve Holeman, who has led his team to its most victories since winning 14 games in 2005. "There's a lot on the line in this game."
Ole Miss has lost just once in its last six matches, including a pair of wins over ranked opponents (No. 7 Florida and No. 16 Georgia). The Rebel attack ranks 14th in the nation in scoring offense with 34 goals in 13 matches (2.62/game). Senior midfielder Danielle Johnson, a Baton Rouge, La., native, is the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both goals in a 1-0 win over Georgia and a 1-1 tie with Tennessee on the road. She is one of three Rebels with five goals on the year, while junior Taylor Cunningham leads the squad with six.
The 15th-ranked Tigers suffered their first loss of the conference season with a 1-0 defeat at Kentucky last Friday. Brian Lee's squad ranks just behind Ole Miss in scoring with 33 goals on the year and has allowed just nine to opponents. Malorie Rutledge tops the team with eight goals, five assists and 21 points. Melissa Clarke has added seven goals, while Rachel Yepez has five goals and four assists.
"It's turned into a great rivalry," Holeman said of the series that LSU leads by a slim 7-6-2 margin. "LSU has one of the most potent attacks in the SEC and in the country. We'll certainly have our hands full. The last time they were at home they scored 11 goals (vs. Georgia and Tennessee). Our defense will have to be very good on Friday night, and we're ready for the challenge."
Ole Miss will travel to Arkansas for a 1 p.m. Sunday tilt at Razorback Field. Former Ole Miss assistant Erin Aubry has led the 'Backs to a 7-3-4 overall record and a 1-3-2 mark in her first year at the helm. Two of the team's three losses in league play have come by one goal, and the squad enters the weekend with three straight shutouts to their credit. Allie Chandler paces the offense with five goals and 12 points, while Britni Williams has established herself as one of the league's best goalkeepers with a 0.56 goals-against average and eight shutouts.
"Erin Aubry has done a great job so far," Holeman said. "She's stepped in and made an immediate impact on the Arkansas program. They're coming off a huge weekend where they beat a very good Vanderbilt team and tied a very good Kentucky team. Not only did they get four points, but they did it on the road, and we know they're going to be even more dangerous at home. All their SEC matches have been close. We know we're going to have to be at our best to get a result."
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Arkansas 11-3 and has not lost in Fayetteville since the 1995 inaugural season. The Rebels are 16-1-4 in regular season games against SEC West foes since 2005.