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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Nationally Ranked Rebels Host No. 10 Auburn Friday
10/15/2015 | Soccer
MATCHUP: No. 21 Ole Miss (10-3-2, 4-3-0 SEC) vs. No. 10 Auburn (12-2-0, 5-2-0 SEC)
Date: October 16, 2015
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Ole Miss Soccer Soccer Stadium
Capacity: 1,500
Television: SEC Network+
Richard Cross, play-by-play
Ian Banner/Holly Hansarling, analysts
Live Stats:
Series: Auburn leads 11-10-2
Last Game: Draw, 2-2
Auburn, Ala.
Oct. 3, 2014
PROMOTIONS
Tiger Takedown - The first 100 fans will receive an Ole Miss Soccer scarf.
Prize-A-Palooza - All fans in attendance can enter to win a Swagway, an Xbox One, an iPad Air or 10 $50 gas cards
KICKERS
- Ole Miss is ranked in the NSCAA poll for the first time since the end of the 2013 season
- The Rebels are tied with Texas A&M for fifth in the SEC standings
- For their weekend performances, senior Maddie Friedmann was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week and redshirt freshman Marnie Merritt was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week
- Ole Miss defeated Arkansas 2-1 on a golden goal by senior Maddie Friedmann in the final second of the game, the 110th minute (109:59), the latest possible time a goal can be scored in collegiate soccer.
-The Rebels hold a 3-0-2 record in overtime games this season
- Defeating No. 10 South Carolina, the Rebels knocked off a top-10 opponent for the first time since defeating No. 7 Florida 3-2 in double overtime, October 4, 2009
- The win over South Carolina was the program's first top-10 win under head coach Matthew Mott.
- Ole Miss posted their sixth clean sheet of the season, became the first team to keep the Gamecocks off the scoreboard this year and handed South Carolina its first loss in SEC play.
- Redshirt freshman Marnie Merritt has four individual shutouts, already ranking eighth in school history
- The Rebels are 8-1-1 at home this season
- With the two victories this weekend, Ole Miss has secured a winning record for the fourth straight season
- The Rebels have now reached double digits in wins for the third time in the past four years
SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn is currently sitting in the No. 10 spot in the NSCAA poll as of Oct. 13, as well as holding third in the NCAA RPI. The Tigers are coming off of a 2-0 shutout win against Texas A&M last Sunday, marking their 12th win of the season. With a 12-2-0 (5-2-0 SEC) record, Auburn sits second in the SEC standings, trailing South Carolina by one point. Junior Casie Ramsier helps lead the Auburn attack as proven against Texas A&M. On Sunday, Ramsier tallied her fourth multi-goal game of the season. Those two goals brought Ramsier to a total of 10 goals and 22 points, which cracks the SEC's top five in both categories. Auburn also is strong defensively, allowing only 11 goals in 14 games. The Tigers have posted shutouts in half of their games, including six by Sarah Le Beau. Le Beau ranks third in the SEC with a .814 save percentage. The Tigers hold a slight advantage in all-time games against the Rebels with an 11-10-2 record. Last season's matchup resulted in a 2-2 draw, but the Rebels will look for the same result the last time the two teams played in Oxford, a 7-0 Ole Miss victory in 2013.
TIGER TIES
Friday night will be a reunion of sorts for the Ole Miss soccer staff. Head coach Matthew Mott served as an assistant coach for the Tigers for six years (1999-2005) under current coach Karen Hoppa, guiding Auburn to four NCAA Tournament berths. During Coach Mott's tenure with Auburn, he also helped lead the Tigers to four straight SEC West titles. When Auburn won the SEC outright in 2002, Mott was named AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year. Ole Miss Soccer's Director of Operations, Summer Ragsdale also has special ties to the Tigers. Ragsdale was a four-year letterwinner for Auburn from 2005-2008, advancing to the NCAA Tournament three times with the Tigers.
RANKED REBELS
After another two-victory weekend in SEC play, including a 2-0 win over No. 10 South Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 11, the Rebels have found themselves at the No. 21 spot in the NSCAA national rankings. This is the first national ranking for Ole Miss since being No. 22 during the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Nov. 21, 2013 and the highest spot since Nov. 4, 2009 when the Rebels were posted at No. 21.
FRIEDMANN AND MERRITT EARN SEC WEEKLY HONORS
Following a perfect weekend for the Ole Miss soccer team, a pair of Rebels earned accolades from the Southeastern Conference. The conference office honored senior Maddie Friedmann as the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, while goalkeeper Marnie Merritt was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Both Rebels earned the weekly awards for the first time in their careers after leading Ole Miss to victories over Arkansas and No. 10 South Carolina. Ole Miss has had three conference players of the week through this point iof the 2015 campaign; CeCe Kizer was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week, Sept. 8.
Friedmann was the primary factor on both offense and defense as she led the Rebels to the perfect weekend in SEC play. On Friday night, Friedmann scored a buzzer-beating goal in double overtime to lift Ole Miss to a 2-1 road victory over Arkansas. Friedmann scored the first game-winning goal of her career in the 110th minute (109:59), the latest possible time a goal can be scored in collegiate soccer. The St. Louis, Missouri native continued her strong play throughout the weekend, leading the Ole Miss backline in a 2-0 win over No. 10 South Carolina. Friedmann not only helped pitch a clean sheet against the SEC leaders, but she also shut down forward Savannah McCaskill. Friedmann followed McCaskill around the entire game, limiting her touches and preventing her from any scoring opportunities as the Gamecocks' leading scorer was unable to attempt a single shot. After missing the first six games of the season due to injury, Friedmann has started in eight games for Ole Miss and has shown her senior leadership on the pitch.
Merritt defended the goal to help the Rebels to a pair of victories over the weekend. On Friday, Merritt made a pair of saves in a 2-1 double overtime win over Arkansas. However, her most impressive performance of the weekend occurred Sunday as she became the first goalkeeper to shutout No. 10 South Carolina this season. The Huntersville, North Carolina native stopped all four shots on goal to produce a clean sheet, the Rebels' sixth of the season.
EVERY SECOND COUNTS
On Friday night in Fayetteville, Ark., as the Rebels headed into overtime with the Razorbacks, it seemed that neither team would tally another goal as each minute marched off of the clock. However, as the final minute of double-overtime dwindled, Ole Miss refused to be stopped and kept fighting. The "tougher than the rest" attitude paid off; senior Maddie Friedmann sent the ball low and into the left side of the goal as time expired to give the Rebels a 2-1 win in one of the most memorable endings in program history. A defender who has spent her career as a focal point on the Ole Miss backline, Friedmann scored the first game-winning goal of her career in the 110th minute (109:59), the latest possible time a goal can be scored in collegiate soccer.
NEW KEEPER, NO PROBLEM
Losing Kelly McCormick to graduation, the Rebels entered 2015 needing to fill the shoes of the record-breaking goalkeeper. Enter redshirt freshman Marnie Merritt. She has been an anchor in the goal for the Rebels so far this season. With Merritt getting the starts and playing the majority of the minutes, the Ole Miss backline pitched four shutouts through the first six games of the season. Through her debut season, Merritt has pitched four individual shutouts, tied for ninth-most in a single season in program history. In her first year as an Ole Miss goalkeeper, Merritt' career shutouts also rank eighth in Rebel laurels. She has made 54 saves throughout the 2015 campaign, which is fourth in the SEC. She made a career-high eight saves at No. 11 Florida and tied that mark against Mizzou last Friday. She also produced a clean sheets versus LSU and No. 10 South Carolina, becoming the first goalie to shutout the Tigers and the Gamecocks this season.
SUSTAINING SUCCESS
The Rebels are continuing to be tougher than the rest as they strive for greatness. The sustained success of the Ole Miss program under head coach Matthew Mott is evident in the numbers. The 2015 season marks the Rebels' fourth straight with a winning record and the third time in the last four years they have posted at least 10 wins. Coach Mott is averaging over 10 wins per season during his tenure at Ole Miss.
FORWARDS ON THE ATTACK
With 32 goals in 15 games, Ole Miss ranks fourth in the SEC and 23rd in the nation. A large part of the scoring success can be credited to a pair of forwards in junior Addie Forbus and freshman CeCe Kizer. Kizer paces the Rebels with 11 goals, while Forbus has found the back of the net nine times. Combining for 20 goals this season, the dynamic duo has been a major factor to the Rebels' early success. Kizer's 11 goals give her 23 points on the 2015 campaign, which is third in the conference. Along with her nine goals, Forbus has added four assists for a total of 22 points, placing her fifth in the SEC in both categories. The two are the only teammates ranked in the SEC's top five of both statistical categories. Forbus and Kizer's combined goals (20) stand at second in the national rankings among teammates, tied with Cal State Fullerton.
SCORING EARLY
On Sunday versus No. 10 South Carolina, Ole Miss scored in the first five minutes of a match for the fifth time this season as Georgia Russell netted her first goal of the year. When the Rebels competed against Mizzou, Oct. 2, CeCe Kizer gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the contest. Kizer notched a goal in the second minute against Austin Peay, and Danielle Gray also tallied an early goal after scoring against UCF, finding the back of the net in the third minute. Addie Forbus started the early scoring with a goal in the third minute against Boise State, the Rebels' second game of the season.
SUCCESS AT HOME
The Rebels have seen their fair share of success on the home pitch over the history of the program with a 113-44-17 all-time record at Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Following a pair of victories over SEC opponents Alabama and LSU, Ole Miss boasts a 8-1-1 mark at home this season. The Rebels hold a 39-14-10 all-time record at home during the Matthew Mott era.
SEC TOURNAMENT DRAWS NEAR
With two weeks left of regular season play, the Rebels are tied with Texas A&M for fifth in conference standings. If the season were to end today, Ole Miss would head to the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala. as either the five or six seed. Thus, the Rebels would receive a first-round bye and begin play on Wednesday during the quarterfinals. The top-10 teams in the SEC, based on points, qualify for the conference tournament.
ON THE HORIZON
After taking on Auburn at the home pitch, the Rebels will hit the map for a weekend of road trips. First, Ole Miss will face off against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. The Rebels will then head to Texas A&M on Sunday for another SEC matchup at 6 p.m. As always, fans can catch the action on SEC Network+.
