Rebels Edged By 7th-Ranked Gamecocks In Tight Match

OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss and No. 7 South Carolina played neck-and-neck throughout the contest, but Lindsay Small's 68th-minute goal on a Gamecock set piece kept Carolina's (11-0, 3-0 SEC) unblemished record alive and sent the Rebels (7-3, 1-1) to their first loss in Southeastern Conference play Friday at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.

Despite the contest featuring the SEC's top two offenses statistically, the two sides combined for just one goal as the defenses ruled the evening. However, the style of play remained fast-paced and entertaining with South Carolina leading the shots total 10-8 and Ole Miss claiming five corner kicks to one for the Gamecocks. The match was hard-fought and physical, but the referee's whistle blew just nine times for fouls as the teams maintained a clean match.

"What an incredible effort," Rebel head coach Steve Holeman said. "Anyone that saw this game knows that it was a very even match that could have gone either way. They scored on a set piece, and in tight games like this, that's oftentimes the difference. Our defense was very good tonight. Our offense created a lot of opportunities. We just need to do the same thing on Sunday (against Florida), except when we get our opportunities we have to put the ball in the net."

Ole Miss had a golden breakaway chance earlier in the game when Hannah Weatherly found herself with a wide open field and about 50 yards between her and the goal. She ran diagonally to her right and went for a point-blank shot but was unable to strike it with enough power, and SC keeper Mollie Patton made the save.

The Gamecocks scored what would be the only point of the match at the 67:50 mark when Kim Miller sent in a ball high in the air to just outside the 8-yard penalty box and Small flicked it with her head over Ole Miss goalie Alley Ronaldi.

Patton, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, recorded her NCAA-leading ninth shutout of the year to earn the victory. She made five saves in the contest, four on shots by Weatherly, including a far post blast on which Patton made a sensational diving grab. Ronaldi collected four saves and took the loss with one goal allowed in 90 minutes.

Ole Miss was without the services of sophomore playmaking midfielder Dylan Jordan, who sustained a mild concussion in the Auburn contest this past Sunday. The Rebel coaching staff shifted some players around in the lineup to compensate, but Holeman didn't believe that necessarily affected the outcome.

"No excuses, but we certainly missed her," Holeman said. "She's a warrior for us. She makes a difference in the midfield. Taylor (Cunningham) stepped into her spot and did incredibly well there, but it took Tay out of the attack. She has a deadly shot and she's our leading goal scorer, but we had to make a decision. Hopefully we'll get Dylan back for Sunday."

The Rebels were unable to claim their first victory over a top-10 team since a 1-0 win over No. 9 LSU last season. They will get another chance, though, as Florida, who is also No. 7 in one of the national soccer polls, visits Oxford for a noon matchup on Sunday. Admission is free to all fans, and there will be lots of prizes given away as part of Ole Miss Club Sports Day.

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Team Stats

Hannah Weatherly

Kelsey Breathitt

Mary Bailey Wickham

Danielle Johnson

The University of Mississippi Athletics