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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss, Georgia to Battle Thursday in Athens
10/19/2016 | Soccer
Match 17 - at Georgia
Date: Oct. 20, 2016
First Kick: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
Location: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Turner Soccer Complex
TV: SEC Network +
Jeff Dantzler (play-by-play)
Tatum Hodge (analyst)
Live Stats: Series: Georgia leads, 9-8-3
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoccer
KICKERS
- The Rebels hit the road for Athens, Ga. Thursday to begin a three-game road stretch to end the regular season.
- Ole Miss is in search of its fourth 10-win season under head coach Matt Mott, and fourth in the last five years.
- The Rebels are coming off a thrilling 2-1 win over Texas A&M on Friday where they scored two late goals in the second half to claim their first home win over the Aggies.
- The road to Orange Beach, Ala. for the SEC Tournament is tight heading into action this week, with just four points separating the fourth through eighth-place teams. Ole Miss sits eighth, while Georgia is 14th.
- If the regular season ended today, Ole Miss would qualify for the SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and face No. 9 seed Alabama in the opening round on Oct. 31. The top six seeded teams receive a bye into Wednesday's second round of play, and the bottom four teams (No. 7-10 seeds) face each other in first round matchups.
- Ole Miss is 8-9-3 overall against Georgia and 4-4-1 in games played in Athens. The two teams didn't play last year, with the last meeting in Athens coming in 2013, a 3-1 win for the Rebels.
- The Rebels have won three-straight road games, all of which were 2-1 victories (Tulsa, Kentucky, Alabama).
- In the latest NCAA RPI release on Monday, Ole Miss checked in at No. 50. The Rebels also rank 40th in overall strength of schedule and 19th in non-conference strength of schedule.
- Sophomore CeCe Kizer has come on strong as of late with 11 points in her last six games, and is second on the team with 16 points. She scored the game-winner over Texas A&M in the 82nd minute, her fifth goal of the year.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Marnie Merritt continues to climb up the career record charts, sitting fifth in goals allowed average (1.23), eighth in saves (148), sixth in goalkeeper wins (23) and sixth in shutouts (11).
- In SEC play, five different players have found the net, while three additional players have recorded assists.
SCOUTING GEORGIA
Led by second-year head coach Billy Lesesne, the Bulldogs are 4-10-1 overall and 1-7 in SEC play. Picked 11th in the SEC Preseason Poll, Georgia currently sits at the bottom of the league standings with three games left. The Bulldogs' lone win in league action came just two outings ago, a 3-0 shutout over LSU in Athens. Of Georgia's seven SEC losses, two have been decided by just one score, a 1-0 defeat to No. 8 Texas A&M, and 2-1 loss at No. 12 Arkansas. The Bulldogs' other three wins have come against non-conference opponents in Samford (3-1), Cal State Fullerton (2-0) and Kennesaw State (1-0). As a team Georgia is averaging 1.13 goals per game and 14.7 shots per contest, while allowing 1.93 goals per match on average. Marion Crowder, an SEC Preseason Watch List player, leads the team with six goals and one assist, and also leads the team in total shots with 57. Lauren Tanner and Mariel Gutierrez, another watch list player, both have two goals. Tanner also leads the team with five assists, while Gutierrez has three. The Bulldogs' goalkeeper, Louise Hogrell, has played all but 15 minutes in goal, and has made 78 saves with 29 goals allowed with three shutouts on the year.
SERIES HISTORY - GEORGIA
Ole Miss and Georgia have played a tighly-contested series over the years, with the Bulldogs holding the slight advantage, 9-8-3. With the two teams not facing off in 2015, the last matchup came in 2014, a 1-1 (2OT) draw in Oxford. Ole Miss' last game in Athens came in 2013, which resulted in a 3-1 victory for the Rebels. Both sides have each won four games in the series all-time in Athens with also one tie. Overall, five of the Rebels' wins in the series have been shutouts with six being decided by one just one goal.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss hosted Texas A&M last Friday in Senior Night and the home finale, a match that featured all second-half scoring and a comeback from the Rebel offense. After playing to a 0-0 draw through the opening period, Texas A&M scored the game's first goal seven minutes into the second half, but the advantage held for only 20 minutes. In the 75th minute, Bella Fiorenzo was awared a free kick and connected with a perfectly-angled shot to tie it up, 1-1. Just seven minutes later, CeCe Kizer found open space near the top of the box and launched in the game-winner, sealing Ole Miss' first-ever home victory over the Aggies.
GRUELING FINAL STRETCH LEFT FOR REBELS
In the first eight games of the season, Ole Miss had to leave Oxford only once, and went 4-3 in the seven home contests within a 24-day period. Now, Ole Miss will play three games in three different states within one week to close out the 2016 regular season. The Rebels are the only team in the SEC that will play their final three matches all on the road, with contests at Georgia (Oct. 20), at Vanderbilt (Oct. 23) and at No. 2 South Carolina (Oct. 27).
REACH THE BEACH
With the final three games left in the regular season, the road to Orange Beach, Ala. for the SEC Tournament is tightening up. Of the 14 teams in the league, the top 10 qualify for the postseason tournament based off point total, with the top six receiving byes into the second round. The bottom four finishers in the regular season (teams 7-10 in the standings), will play each other (No. 7/10 seed, No. 8/9 seed) in the first round, Oct. 31, to determine the top two seeds' opponents for Wednesday's (Nov. 2) second round of play. Prior to this week's play, the Rebels currently sit eighth with 12 total points, just one point off sixth. Four points overall separate the fourth through eighth-place teams, as the race for the tournament is still wide open.
COMEBACK KIDS
Of the Rebels' last five wins, three have resulted in comeback fashion. Outside of a dominating win over Mississippi State at home on Sept. 22, Ole Miss' other four recent wins have a lot in common; all four were 2-1 wins, and three of those were on the road. Back in the non-conference match at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane went up 1-0 very early (9th minute), but two second-half goals (50th, 60th minute) led to a 2-1 Rebels' victory. The next road trip at Kentucky was also similar in fashion, except the Wildcats broke a scoreless tie in the 78th minute, before a goal with six minutes left, and game-winner in double overtime sealed the win in Lexington. Five days later, the Rebels again had to score late to win over the Crimson Tide, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 70th minute. In the most recent outing, the Rebels again fell behind early in the second half, but used two late scores (75th, 82nd minute) to win over the Aggies.
UP NEXT
Following play Thursday night in Athens, the Rebels will travel to the state of Tennessee for a Sunday afternoon matchup with Vanderbilt with kick set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
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. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.
