The University of Mississippi Athletics
Pack The Soccer Stands For Alabama, Auburn (ESPNU)
9/24/2009 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - With six wins in their past seven matches, the surging Ole Miss Rebels kick off Southeastern Conference play with a pair of western division rivals this weekend at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
Alabama comes to town for a 7 p.m. Friday match that will be streamed live on RebelVision, the premium content provider of OleMissSports.com. Ole Miss hosts Auburn at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Rebels' first-ever appearance on ESPNU.
Admission is free for all Ole Miss home soccer matches, and there are plenty of promotions to kick off league competition this weekend. On Friday, fans will have a chance to win big prizes from Ashley Furniture. The Rebels are anticipating a huge crowd for Sunday's contest. The first 100 fans on Sunday will receive free T-shirts, while all fans will be treated to complimentary Bofield's chicken before the game. At halftime, one lucky fan will receive an extreme makeover courtesy of Rebel Rags.
"The SEC is one of the top soccer conferences in the country," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman, whose team has won three SEC West titles during his tenure. "It's going to be a battle every game. Right now we're playing well. We're playing with a lot of confidence, and we're very close to being 100 percent healthy. We're looking forward to opening up conference play at home. We feel like we can compete well with both Alabama and Auburn, and we're excited to get it underway."
Ole Miss is 6-2 on the season with shutouts in all six victories. Entering league play, the Rebels rank 12th in the nation with 3.25 goals per game (26 total) and 10th nationally with a 0.375 goals-against average (3 total goals allowed). The Rebels' 26 goals already matches their total from all of last season.
Taylor Cunningham leads the team with five goals and 12 points, ranking top five in the SEC in both categories. Kelsey Breathitt has added four goals, while Kendyl Mygatt and Dylan Jordan are among the league leaders with five and four assists, respectively. Alley Ronaldi ranks 16th among all goalkeepers in the nation with her 0.43 goals-against average.
Ole Miss has lost just once to an SEC West opponent since 2005, recording a 15-1-4 record against division foes over the last four seasons. Ole Miss holds a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series with Alabama and enters the weekend with a four-game winning streak in the series. The Ole Miss-Auburn match annually pits two of the division's top teams. Auburn leads the series by a narrow 8-7-1 margin, while Ole Miss is 4-0-1 in the last five matchups.
Alabama enters league play with a 4-3 record, including wins last weekend over Texas Tech and TCU. Goalkeeper Justine Bernier is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week after her performances in those victories. Victoria Frederick tops the Tide with four goals and 10 points this season.
Auburn is coming off a big result against then-No. 1 North Carolina as the Tigers earned a 0-0 tie with the Tar Heels this past Sunday, led by freshman keeper Amy Howard's 12 saves. Howard was named SEC Freshman of the Week and Soccer America Player of the Week for her performance. Auburn has a 3-2-3 record entering the weekend and plays at Mississippi State on Friday night.
