The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 17 Ole Miss Visits Kentucky On Thursday
10/21/2009 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 17 nationally ranked Ole Miss soccer team caps a five-match road swing with a visit to Kentucky on Thursday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET from the UK Soccer Complex.
The Rebels will enter the contest with a 3-0-2 record in their last five outings, including four of those on the road and three against ranked opponents. They are 10-3-2 overall with a 4-1-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play, as they sit in second place (with 14 points) in the Western Division behind LSU (19 points).
"We're playing with a lot of confidence," said head coach Steve Holeman, who will lead the Rebels into the 300th match in program history on Thursday. "One thing that came out of last weekend is that I don't think we were at our best, and we came out of it undefeated and came away with two shutouts. This is a team that has found ways to win and get good results even when we aren't at our best. This will be our fifth straight road game. It seems like we just got back, and we're hitting the road again. But this team has a lot of character, and they've shown it throughout the season."
Ole Miss ranks among the top 20 teams nationally in both scoring offense and defense, as the team has tallied 35 goals in 15 matches and allowed just nine to opponents. Taylor Cunningham and Hannah Weatherly lead a balanced offensive attack with six goals apiece, while Danielle Johnson and Kelsey Breathitt have each added five goals. Alley Ronaldi, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, has led the team to three shutouts in their last four outings and boasts a 0.61 goals-against average for the season.
Kentucky is 5-7-4 overall and 2-5-1 in SEC play. The Wildcats sit in 10th place in the SEC with seven points and are trying to play their way into a league tournament spot, which goes to the top eight teams in the final SEC standings. First-year coach Jon Lipsitz has led a UK club that ranks among the best in the league defensively. The team has allowed 11 goals in 16 outings, pitching seven shutouts, which includes a 1-0 win over then-No. 13 LSU. Goalkeeper Sydney Hiance boasts a 0.69 GAA and 59 saves in 1,439 minutes, while forward Giuleana Lopez leads the offensive attack with four goals and two assists for 10 points.
"We know Kentucky is going to be another great game for us," Holeman said. "Kentucky has a solid defense. They give up very few goals, and they can be dangerous when they come at you. They're coming off a big win over Auburn and are playing with some momentum and confidence. Yet again, we're going to have to be at our best to get a result."
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 9-5-1, while the Rebels prevailed in last year's meeting by a 3-1 count in Oxford.
Ole Miss will close out the regular season with three straight home matches against Vanderbilt (Sunday), Mississippi State (Oct. 30 - Senior Day) and Alabama (Nov. 1) before the SEC Tournament kicks off in Orange Beach, Ala., on Nov. 4.
