Ole Miss Drops Road Contest at No. 11 Florida

Sept. 18, 2015

OXFORD, Miss. - The Rebels dropped just their second match of the season in a road contest against No. 11 Florida, 4-1, on Friday night in a Southeastern Conference matchup.

"We played a very good team tonight, and the score was not indicative of the match," noted head coach Matthew Mott. "Our team battled very hard for 90 minutes. Credit to UF for finishing their chances."

The Rebels (5-2-2, 0-2-0 SEC) played a hard fought match against the nationally ranked Gators (6-2-0) and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Ole Miss goalkeeper Marnie Merritt tallied a total of 8 saves on the night, while Addie Forbus scored her sixth goal of the season late in the first half.

Merritt was the shining factor early in the match, marking two back-to-back saves in the first five minutes to keep Florida from scoring first. Both teams took turns attacking the net, but the Rebel defense continued to make exceptional stops in the first half.

The Rebels made a great run towards for the Gator goal near the 32nd minute when Forbus took the ball inside the danger zone and crossed left to CeCe Kizer. Kizer's shot barely missed and was just shy of the crossbar. Forbus continued her pursuit nearing the end of the first half when she sent the ball into the left corner of the goal on an assist by senior Jennifer Miller in the 40th minute. The Rebels held a one-goal advantage as the two SEC teams headed into halftime.

Florida stepped onto the pitch in the second half and quickly tied the score. Christen Westphal scored the equalizer for the two teams as she knocked the ball into the right corner of the net on a shot that left little for Merritt to be able to defend.

Ole Miss and Florida remained tied 1-1 for the majority of the second half until Brook Sharp scored on an assist by both Savannah Jordan and Sarah Troccoli with about 13 minutes left in the game. The Gators extended their lead on a header goal by Betsy Middleton after a Westphal assist in the 82nd minute. Sharp assisted Jordan's goal from the center of the box on the fourth and final goal of the night for the Gators.

Ole Miss will remain on the road to close out the weekend. The Rebels travel to Memphis for a 7 p.m. matchup between the two teams.

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Team Stats

Addie Forbus

Melissa Capocaccia

Jennifer Miller

Gretchen Harknett

Players Mentioned

Addie Forbus

CeCe Kizer

Marnie Merritt

Jennifer Miller

The University of Mississippi Athletics