The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Mott Weekly Press Conference
9/14/2015 | 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 seven-game homestand that ended last weekend, while also looking ahead to road matchups against nationally-ranked Florida and Memphis.
Opening Statementรขโฌยฆ
"Friday night was a tough game for us, opening up conference play against Kentucky. Really, the game was a tale of two halves. We came out with great energy and playing really good soccer, and got a goal early on from a great strike from Gretchen Harknett. She needed a goal; she had been playing really well and was in a little bit of a snake pit in scoring. She got a great goal that would get us going. We gave up a goal late in the half on a penalty kick. In the second half, Kentucky really kind of took over. That's when they flexed their muscle on us, and came out and scored a few goals on us. We did very well against Louisville in the first half. Addie Forbus, again, with another beautiful goal and assist from Sara Coleman and Gretchen Harknett got us on the board. We came out in the second half and gave up a goal on a corner to Louisville, but we battled back. CeCe Kizer scored a great goal to win it. It was her fourth game-winning goal of the year. CeCe has been great for us. That's seven goals for her; she is second in the league (in goals). She has the most game-winning goals in the league and is playing very well. That proved that her, Gretchen and Addie have been good for us. Another bright spot for us, for sure, was the return of Maddie Friedmann, who has been out. Last year she played every minute of every game in the back four. She has been out with a back surgery, and she is back. But she played very well on Friday. When I talked to her I said, "What do you think about Sunday?" and she was ready to go. We started her and she played 90 minutes. And just to give you an idea, she ran almost 9 miles at 8.6 miles. Her first full game back, she led our team in mileage. So for an outside back to run that long is pretty impressive. I'm happy for her to get back. Liza Harbin is back from her red card suspension. She played well yesterday, as did Samantha Sanders. I'm happy with the team. Danielle Gray has moved a little bit more in a wing-back spot, which should help us a little bit more in the attack. So overall, we did well in our homestand. We went 5-1-1, which I'm pretty pleased with. We played well in all of those games, and now it doesn't get any easier as we head to Florida to play the Gators Friday night down there. It is always a tough place to play. We didn't play them last year, so we haven't seen these guys in a while. But I'm excited to get down to Gainesville, and then we have our big rivalry against Memphis, who is always a really good game for us. It's a big rivalry against the team that is closest to us that we play. That game is at 7:00 p.m. over there on Sunday evening."
On how Friedmann impacts the defense now that she is backรขโฌยฆ
"Significantly. She has been a great defender for us her whole four-year career, so to get her back and playing at the level that she is playing is really good for us. She is another 90-minute player for us, and that allows to sub some of the other guys a little more. It is a significant change for us. Yesterday was really the first time for us, what we thought in preseason, what were our best eleven players out on the field. So eight games in, we finally have our starting eleven out there, and it showed from playing well yesterday. "
On Addie Forbus and how she compares to the all-time great soccer players at Ole Missรขโฌยฆ
"She's been awesome. She is every bit as good as advertised and continues to get better. I think this is going to continue for her. She'll go down as one of the best Rebels as an attacker and as a forward, absolutely. She is a special player for us, and a player that we rely on and creates chances for us. She had two goals and an assist, although it should have been three goals. She scored three, but only two were counted. So she is in good form, and she is going to have a good SEC run."
