The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Downs ULL, 3-1
8/28/2015 | Soccer
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss' aggressive offense set the pace for the Rebels on the home pitch for 3-1 win over the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on a picture perfect Friday night.
Rebels (2-0-1) outshot ULL (1-2-0) 22-6, controlling the attack for the majority of the night. Ole Miss also recorded six corner kicks on one Cajun corner. Freshman CeCe Kizer and junior Addie Forbus both tallied goals for the second consecutive match, Gretchen Harknett scored her first goal of the season.
"I thought we played well. We started well both halves, and had a lot of great energy out there," said Ole Miss Head Coach Matthew Mott. "We created a lot of chances in the first half, but the keeper made a lot of great saves on our breakaways."
The Rebels came out onto the pitch attacking early and often on the Cajuns. Forbus made the first run to the goal but was unable to convert and a save was credited to ULL goalkeeper Cosette Morche, who made nine throughout the nine. Shortly after the Forbus run, Harknett took a shot that sailed just over the crossbar. Forbus took her second shot on goal of the night in the 14th minute but another save was made. Jennifer Miller also took her turn attacking the ULL net with back-to-back shots on goal with about 19 minutes left in the first half. Shortly after Miller's attempt, Harknett took a great shot that narrowly missed the goal, bouncing off of the post.
Ole Miss capitalized on an opportunity in the 38th minute when Forbus sent the ball into the right side of the net after receiving a cross by Olivia Harrison. The Forbus goal edged the Rebels to a 1-0 lead over ULL before halftime.
The Rebels stepped back onto the pitch for the second half and were able to finish on two different occasions. In the 47th minute, Danielle Gray made an impressive run down the field before taking a shot, but Morche made the save. Kizer stepped up, taking control of the rebound and sent the ball in for the second Rebel goal. ULL marked their only goal of the night in the 57th minute on a free kick by Kimberly Grasso that sailed into the top-left 90 of the Rebel net. The goal was the first allowed this season by Ole Miss.
Ole Miss jumped on the chance to answer the Cajun goal when Miller drove the ball from the defending side of the pitch onto the attack. Harknett then took the shot and the Rebels once again extended the lead to 3-1, marking the final score for the night.
"It was a great free kick by them," noted Mott. "To respond right after was huge, and it was good getting Gretchen (Harknett) on the board. She'll score a lot of goals for us, but to get her to break through this season was good. It was a great feed by Jenn (Miller) out wide to finish a great goal for us."
The Rebels continue their weekend homestand as Austin Peay makes the trip to the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium on Sunday at 3 p.m. The match will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
