No. 17 Rebels Pound Wildcats 4-1 In Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Dylan Jordan and Hannah Weatherly each netted a pair of goals and No. 17 Ole Miss dominated Kentucky in a 4-1 victory on Thursday evening at the UK Soccer Complex.

The win improves the Rebels to 11-3-2 overall and 5-1-2 in Southeastern Conference play and moves them a little closer to first place in the SEC Western Division standings with 17 points. Division leader LSU (19 points) suffered a 4-0 loss at Florida on Thursday. Kentucky dropped to 5-8-4 overall and 2-6-1 in league play.

"We played really well tonight," Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman said. "Kentucky has a very good defense and they don't give up many goals, so to put up four goals on them, it was a great night. We were on the road for our fifth straight road game, and our girls played hard and played well. We created a lot of good opportunities, and we finished."

Ole Miss, which entered the contest ranked top 20 in the nation in both scoring offense and defense, scored its most goals in an SEC match since a 4-0 win over Alabama in 2006. It's the eighth time this season that the Rebels have netted at least three goals and the third time in league play (3-2 wins over Auburn and No. 7 Florida). Kentucky had not allowed more than two goals to an opponent all season prior to Thursday.

The Rebels controlled possession throughout the match and came away with a 20-5 advantage in shots and a 4-1 edge in corner kicks.

Jordan put the Rebels ahead 1-0 in the 27th minute after Lexington native Kelsey Breathitt made a run down the right flank and served it to Jordan, who struck it from 15 yards out. It was Jordan's second goal of her career and the first of two goals for her on the night. It was also the first of two assists in the game for Breathitt.

Ole Miss led 1-0 at halftime after out-shooting Kentucky 11-1 in the period. The Rebels collected three more goals after the midway point, including Jordan's second of the evening, which came at the 53:09 mark. Arielle Cohen played a ball through the UK defense and the sophomore from Palmyra, Tenn., finished by beating the goalkeeper 1 v 1.

Weatherly netted a pair of second-half goals to give her a team-leading eight on the season, which is the highest season total she's had in her four-year Rebel career and the most by an Ole Miss player since Brittney Potts had 10 in 2004. The Tupelo, Miss., native scored in the 57th and 80th minute on assists by Breathitt and Jordan.

"Dylan and Hannah both played well tonight," Holeman said. "We played Dylan up top. She's usually in the midfield. She scored two great goals, and Hannah's were both really good as well. They both worked hard tonight. We weren't just good on the attack, but we were good defensively, starting with the pressure from our forwards to the midfield, and our backs were solid again."

Kentucky pulled within two goals at 3-1 when Laura Novikoff scored on a penalty kick at the 65:38 mark after a Rebel foul in the box, but it wasn't enough for the home team on its Senior Night.

Ole Miss finished its five-match road swing with a 3-0-2 record, including a win over No. 16 Georgia and a tie with No. 15 LSU during the trip.

"When you look at the SEC schedule and know you not only have to play five straight road games, but in that mix a couple of top 20 teams, to think you could go undefeated in that stretch is phenomenal," Holeman said. "Obviously everyone in the league has a solid team. You think it's possible, but you have to be at your best every time out. The girls will certainly be glad to be at home. It's been a while."

Holeman also attributes some of the road success to the way the team has been able to travel this season.

"We've chartered our own 30-seat plane straight out of Oxford during this entire road trip," Holeman said. "When it's just a two-hour trip to Lexington, or a one hour, 15 minute trip to Athens, or short flights from Athens to Knoxville and Baton Rouge to Fayetteville, that's helped cut down on our travel time. And when you're on road that long, that matters."

Ole Miss returns home for the regular season's final three matches, beginning with a 2 p.m. Sunday tilt with Vanderbilt. The final two matches are Mississippi State next Friday at 7 p.m. (Senior Night) and a re-scheduled game vs. Alabama on next Sunday at 1 p.m.

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Team Stats

Dylan Jordan

Hannah Weatherly

Kelsey Breathitt

Arielle Cohen

The University of Mississippi Athletics