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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
12-3-2, 6-3SEC
Tennessee
7-4-5, 3-4-2SEC
No. 13 Rebels Blank Tennessee 2-0
10/23/2015 | Soccer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On a beautiful Friday night at Regal Stadium, No. 13 Ole Miss defeated Tennessee, 2-0, giving the Rebels (12-3-2, 6-3-0 SEC) their first win over the Lady Vols (7-4-5, 3-4-2 SEC) since 2003 and their third straight shutout. Ole Miss also increased its winning streak to a season-high four games and became the Rebels' seventh victory in the last eight games.
Despite being outshot by Tennessee 14-6, the Rebels were able to put two goals in the back of the net for the victory. The first goal scored by senior Jessica Hiskey for her second goal of the season. Freshman standout CeCe Kizer scored her team-leading 12th goal of the season later in the second half. Two goals have notably been a part of the Rebel success as Ole Miss is now 11-1-1 when scoring at least two goals in a match. The two Rebel goals also mark just the fourth time this season that Tennessee has allowed multiple goals.
"It was a great game for us," noted head coach Matthew Mott. "We had a big time goal by Jess (Hiskey) in the first half, and a great goal by CeCe (Kizer) in the second half. Total team defending was really, really good. We have a bunch of Tennessee kids on the team, and they really wanted this one after last year's double overtime match against them. The team played at a really good level. I am just really happy with tonight's performance."
The Rebels produced their eighth clean sheet of the season, giving redshirt freshman Marnie Merritt her sixth individual game without allowing a goal. Merritt played another great game and totaled five saves to keep the Lady Vols off the board.
"We are really committed to defending, and defending set pieces," mentioned Coach Mott. "We did a great job at defending set pieces again today."
The first half of the match saw both teams going back and forth on the attack. Though the score remained tied at nil until the 34th minute, the Rebels were awarded a corner kick taken by senior Gretchen Harknett. The junior forward sent a perfect ball into Hiskey, the reigning SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, who then headed the ball into the goal to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead in the first half.
Ole Miss and Tennessee continued their battle in the second half. The Rebels were holding steady to a 1-0 advantage as Merritt continued to defend the Ole Miss goal. In the 77th minute, Maddie Friedmann knocked a short pass to Kizer who squared away from the center of the box and sent her shot into the middle of the goal just under the cross bar.
Tennessee had its best chance of the night in the 84th minute when Amy Neal took a close range shot, but Merritt came up with an excellent save. The Ole Miss backline once again stood tall to increase their shutout streak to three complete games.
"We need to recover, and we have a long flight tomorrow," said Coach Mott. "We have a big game Sunday night. Texas A&M is a great team. They are right there with us fighting for their spot in the SEC. It will be a great game and we are looking forward to it."
Ole Miss is back on the pitch this Sunday against No. 19 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. First touch is set for 6 p.m. CT. As always, fans can catch the action on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Jessica Hiskey (2)
Assisted By: Gretchen Harknett
Header off of corner kick
33:03
CeCe Kizer (12)
Assisted By: Maddie Friedmann
Top of the box, under crossbar
76:34
