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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Mott Weekly Press Conference
11/16/2015 | Soccer
Ole Miss Head Coach Matthew Mott met with members of the media on Monday as part of his weekly press conference. Coach Mott discussed the Rebels' NCAA Championship first round victory over Murray State Friday, and also looks ahead to Friday's NCAA second round contest versus No. 7 Clemson (6 p.m. CT).
Opening Statement
"First thing I want to do is congratulate Coach (Steven) McRoberts on the big win yesterday against LSU. I got to watch part of the game and the team looks good. They are playing very hard and had a great win against LSU. It was an exciting game for us Friday night. To get back at home in the NCAA Tournament is always really special. It is a great reward for your team. I thought we played well the whole game. It was a game where you would have liked to have a few more goals, but in soccer you only really need one. Our defense played really well. It was a good goal set up by Olivia Harrison to Addie Forbus to Gretchen Harknett who sent it in. I was really happy for those guys to get on the board and score early to settle their nerves a little bit. I thought our midfield and our defense was really good. They moved the ball very well. We had 21 shots, we just didn't find the back of the net again. We were dangerous all night long. We were very good defensively. Marnie Merritt only had to make one save on the night. That is always a good thing for a goalkeeper. Now we turn our attention to Clemson. It is nice to be one of only 32 teams left that get to practice today. That is exciting for our team. We will head to Clemson and they are a very good team. Obviously, Clemson is part of the ACC and they tied for third in their league. They are very dangerous up front. They have some very special front players with a very good backline and a great goalkeeper. I expect it to be a good game for us on Friday night. Our girls are excited to continue on. It is a great bracket that we are part of. It is us versus Clemson with the other game being Texas A&M versus North Carolina. The winners of the two games will play on Sunday. But, that is great company for us to be in. They have legendary coaches with legendary programs. The coach at Clemson, Eddie Radwanksi, is a very, very good coach. He has been in this business for a long time and I have tremendous respect for him. I think they will be prepared and we will too. I think Friday will be a very exciting game. Our team is in a good spot and I am looking forward to this next match."
On how Clemson is different than Murray State...
"They are going to put a lot more dangerous pieces up front. They have a couple of special forwards and their attacking-mid is very dangerous. They will put much more pressure on us. They are very organized in the back with an excellent goalkeeper who kicks the ball really well. Clemson is solid in every position. It will certainly be more difficult for us defensively."
On the game versus Clemson...
"I think the first goal is going to be very important. I think they will have the ability to make it tough on us if they score first, but I think we have the same ability. I think it will be a one goal game, one way or another. I don't expect it to be very high scoring. I think their backline against our frontline is going to be a good matchup and a very neat thing to watch."
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Soccer on Twitter at @OleMissSoccer, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissSoccer, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemisssoccer. Also follow head coach Matt Mott on Twitter at @CoachMattMott.
