The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Soccer Unveils 2010 Schedule
6/3/2010 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - Seven of last year's NCAA Tournament teams highlight the 2010 Ole Miss soccer fall schedule, announced Thursday by head coach Matthew Mott.
In addition to the always rigorous Southeastern Conference slate, the Rebels will square off against nine quality non-conference opponents, including 2009 NCAA Tournament squads Memphis and Santa Clara. Five SEC foes joined the Rebels in the "Big Dance" last year - Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina.
"We have a very competitive non-conference schedule that's going to prepare us for what is always a difficult run through the SEC," said Mott, who was hired on May 10 to take over the program after former coach Steve Holeman left to fill the Georgia head coaching vacancy. "Our schedule has a great mix of schools from inside our region, like Memphis, Southern Miss and UAB from Conference USA, and schools like Santa Clara and Texas Tech from other regions. The SEC has proven itself as one of the top soccer conferences in the country with some of the nation's top teams. We look forward to getting underway this fall."
Despite losing three decorated seniors from last year's squad (Mallory Coleman, Danielle Johnson and Hannah Weatherly), the Rebels return the majority of a young core of players who helped the team to a 13-6-2 overall record and 7-2-2 mark in league play (3rd place in SEC) en route to the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Ole Miss will open the Mott era with a string of three straight non-league teams that just missed out on NCAA Tournament bids a year ago. The season opener is Friday, Aug. 20 against Middle Tennessee at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, followed by home matches with Western Kentucky (Aug. 27) and UAB (Aug. 29).
The Rebels will travel to South Bend, Ind., the next weekend for a Labor Day tournament hosted by Notre Dame. Ole Miss plays Texas Tech on Sept. 3 before a Sept. 5 date with Santa Clara, which advanced to last year's NCAA Sweet Sixteen before bowing out to No. 1 seed Stanford.
Four straight home games wrap up the Rebels' non-conference slate, as Ole Miss hosts McNeese State (Sept. 10), defending Conference USA champion Memphis (Sept. 12), Southern Miss (Sept. 17) and TCU (Sept. 19).
The SEC opener at Alabama (Sept. 24) is the start of a four-match road swing to begin league play. After facing the Tide, Ole Miss will face a challenging stretch of three straight NCAA Tournament foes away from Oxford in Auburn (Sept. 26), South Carolina (Oct. 1) and defending SEC champion Florida (Oct. 3).
The Rebels will return home for a matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 8, to kick off five straight home contests. The UGA game is followed by Tennessee (Oct. 10), defending SEC West champion LSU (Oct. 15), Arkansas (Oct. 17) and Kentucky (Oct. 21). The final two league games are on the road at Vanderbilt (Oct. 24) and Mississippi State (Oct. 29).
The 2010 SEC Tournament will once again be held in Orange Beach, Ala., Nov. 3-7. The top eight teams in the conference standings advance to the tournament. Ole Miss is one of only two teams to make the league tourney in each of the past 13 seasons (Florida).
The 2010 NCAA Tournament begins Nov. 12 at campus sites and concludes with the Women's College Cup Dec. 3-5 in Cary, N.C.
