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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
13-5-2
Texas A&M
14-5-1
No. 17 Ole Miss Falls 2-0 in SEC Tournament
11/4/2015 | Soccer
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - In the quarterfinals of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Tournament, the No. 17 Ole Miss soccer team fell in a heartbreaking match, 2-0, after two late Texas A&M goals. The setback marked the first time this season that the Rebels (13-5-2) have suffered back-to-back losses.
"I don't think we were clean enough today. We really couldn't get any rhythm. We were pretty fortunate to get to halftime at 0-0," said head coach Matthew Mott. "I thought we regrouped and had a good discussion about what we wanted to do in the second half. We came out and had a few moments that were never good enough, or clean enough, in front of the goal. Texas A&M scored a good goal and they pushed forward and got another one."
Texas A&M (14-5-1) found a way to control the ball for much of the match, finding the back of the net in the 75th and 81st minutes, while outshooting the Rebels 19-7. However, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Marnie Merritt tied her career-high in saves. Merritt marked eight saves on the day, which she had previously done against Florida and Missouri.
The trademark of the first half was certainly the Rebel defense. Merritt tallied five saves during the top half alone to keep Ole Miss in the contest. Second Team All-SEC defender Jessica Hiskey also held a notable presence as she helped protect the goal on the backline. Despite the Aggie's nine shots, with five on goal, the two teams remained scoreless as they entered halftime. The best opportunity for Ole Miss came in the 29th minute when Gretchen Harknett's shot barely missed and bounced off of the right post.
The Aggies were the first to find a way into the goal late in the second half. With 15 minutes remaining, Texas A&M's Ally Watt scored as she went one-on-one against Merritt. Texas A&M found a way to score again as Emily Bates sent a ball into the lower left side of the goal.
Ole Miss continued to fight to get back into the contest. With seven minutes remaining SEC Freshman of the Year CeCe Kizer nearly cut the lead in half, but the shot sailed over the crossbar. Texas A&M prevented any comeback by the Rebels to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
"We need to be cleaner against whoever we play in the NCAA Tournament," noted Coach Mott. "If we pass the ball that poorly, it is going to be one and done. We have to get cleaner and get ourselves sharper and ready to play. When you talk about only 64 teams, you know you are going to play somebody good. We have to get ourselves ready for whoever we may face."
The Rebels will return to Oxford and await their fate for the NCAA Tournament in hopes for a continued postseason. The selection show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
Team Stats
Watt, Ally (6)
Run to left post, tapped across goal to
74:33
Bates, Emily (6)
Cut to top of box, left-footed strike to
80:35
