Ole Miss Drops Road Contest at Mizzou

Oct. 2, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Ole Miss and Mizzou faced off in an SEC showdown on Friday night in Columbia that resulted in 2-1 setback for the Rebels (8-3-2, 2-3-0 SEC).

The Rebels got off to a quick start and netted the first goal of the night within three minutes against the Tigers (5-3-4, 3-1-1 SEC). This goal marked the fourth time this season the Rebels have scored within the first five minutes of a match and the second time for freshman standout CeCe Kizer.

Kizer's goal in the third minute was her 11th of the season. The 11 goals rank as third most goals scored by a freshman in Ole Miss soccer history. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Marnie Merritt had eight saves on the night with several diving saves to keep the Tigers at bay. Merritt's eight stops tied her career high in a contest.

Ole Miss wasted no time after first touch in Columbia. The Rebels drove the ball toward the Mizzou goal and began their attack. Junior Addie Forbus passed back to Kizer, who was nearly 18-yards out. Kizer saw her opportunity and sent a strike into the upper-right 90 of the Tiger goal to give Ole Miss the early 1-0 lead.

The Tigers countered late in the top half to equalize the score. In the 39th minute, Mizzou converted a perfectly placed corner kick. Redshirt junior Jessica Herrman directed the header into the back of the net, her second goal of the season, on an assist by senior Macee Blanchard. The two teams headed to the locker room for halftime with a tie score of 1-1.

"I thought we scored a good early goal, but it was disappointing to give up that goal late in the first half on the corner," noted head coach Matthew Mott.

Both teams took to the pitch in the second half fighting for opportunities to find a lead. The Tigers were able to bring the score to 2-1 about halfway through the second half as redshirt senior Lauren Flynn took a shot directly in front of the middle of the goal, scoring with an assist from senior Candace Johnson in the 70th minute.

The second Missouri goal marked the final score of the night as the Tigers grabbed a 2-1 victory despite the Rebels' determination to find the equalizer.

"In the second half I thought we battled hard, but they had another set piece goal and you have to give them credit," said Coach Mott. "I thought we pushed hard late in the game to get another goal, but we just couldn't find it tonight."

Ole Miss will be back for more SEC action next weekend. The Rebels will travel to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks on Friday night at 7 p.m. before returning to the home pitch to face South Carolina at 7 p.m. on Sunday. As always, fans can tune into the action on SEC Network+.

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Team Stats

CeCe Kizer

Addie Forbus

Gretchen Harknett

Bethany Bunker

Players Mentioned

Addie Forbus

CeCe Kizer

Marnie Merritt

The University of Mississippi Athletics