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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Soccer Set for Sunday Match at Vanderbilt
10/22/2016 | Soccer
Match 18 - at Vanderbilt
Date: Oct. 23, 2016
First Kick: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Vanderbilt Soccer Complex
TV: SEC Network +
Kevin Ingram (play-by-play)
Megan Forester (analyst)
Live Stats: Series: Tied, 6-6-5
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoccer
KICKERS
- The Rebels stay on the road for a Sunday afternoon matchup at Vanderbilt Sunday, the second of three-straight road games 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 looking to get back on track Sunday after falling 3-0 to Georgia in their last outing Thursday night in Athens.
- The road to Orange Beach, Ala. for the SEC Tournament is still tight with just six points separating the fifth through tenth-place teams. Ole Miss is eighth with 12 points, while Vanderbilt is one spot ahead in seventh with 13.
- As it stands prior to Sunday's league action, Ole Miss would qualify for the SEC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and face No. 9 seed Alabama. The top six seeded teams receive a bye into Wednesday's second round, and the bottom four teams (No. 7-10 seeds) face each other in first round matchups on Oct. 31.
- Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have each won six games in the series all-time, locked at 6-6-5 entering Sunday's play.
- The Rebels are 3-2-3 against the Dores in games played in Nashville, having won three-straight on the road.
- 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 been the producer on offense lately with 11 points in her last seven games, and is second on the team with 16 points. She needs just five goals to crack the top 10 career charts.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Marnie Merritt continues to climb up the career record charts, sitting sixth in goals allowed average (1.27), tied for sixth in saves (154), sixth in goalkeeper wins (23) and sixth in shutouts (11).
- Six of the Rebels' seven freshmen have seen the field this year, and five of those have combined for 44 starts.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
Led by second-year head coach Darren Ambrose, the Commodores are 8-7-1 overall and 4-4-1 in SEC play. Picked 10th in the SEC Preseason Poll, Vanderbilt is seventh in the league standings with 13 points. After starting 4-1 in conference action, the Commodores have lost three of their last four down the stretch of the regular season. In the most recent outing, the Black and Gold took No. 2 South Carolina to overtime before losing 2-1. In the three matches prior, the Dores fell to Missouri (2-1), tied Kentucky (2-2) and dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 11 Arkansas. Vandy's four SEC wins came over Mississippi State (2-1), No 14 Texas A&M (2-0), LSU (3-0) and Tennessee (3-2). The Commodores went 4-3 in non-conference play, picking up wins over Miami (2-1), Jackson State (8-0), Murray State (4-0) and San Francisco (2-1). Vanderbilt boasts four SEC Preseason Watch List players on its roster, including Cristina De Zeeuw, Sasha Gray, Kacy Scarpa and Lydia Simmons. Gray is tied for second on the team with four goals and three assists, while Simmons has three goals and also three assists. Eleven different players have scored for Vandy this season contributing to the team's 1.94 goals per game and 31 overall. The Vanderbilt defense has held opposing teams to an average of 1.44 goals per game, led by goalkeeper Kaitlyn Fahrner's 69 saves and 17 goals allowed in 13 games. She's recorded three shutouts and has an 8-5 record in goal playing the majority of minutes for the Dores this season.
SERIES HISTORY - VANDERBILT
The two sides enter Sunday's matchup all tied up in the all-time series, 6-6-5. The Rebels won five-straight before last year's 1-0 loss in Oxford. Ole Miss is 3-2-3 against the Commodores in games played in Nashville, and has won three-straight in road games in the series dating back to 2010. The Rebels' only two losses in Nashville came in 2006 (2-0) and 1999 (3-1).
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss faced off with Georgia Thursday night in Athens, falling 3-0 to the Bulldogs in a key SEC matchup. The Bulldogs got on the board early in the 11th minute and took a 1-0 lead to halftime, before scoring two more times in the second period. The two teams combined for 29 shots with Ole Miss accounting for eight, while the Bulldogs posted 21 with 10 on frame. Goalkeeper Marnie Merritt made six stops in goal for the road team, while Addie Forbus finished with five shots and three on goal.
OLE MISS IN MIDST OF FINAL STRETCH, ALL ON THE ROAD
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 is in the middle of three-straight on the road to end the regular season, still facing two tough matchups at Vanderbilt (Oct. 23), and the regular-season finale at No. 2 South Carolina (Oct. 27). The Rebels are the only team in the SEC to play their final three on the road.
REACH THE BEACH
With the final two games left in the regular season, the road to Orange Beach, Ala. for the SEC Tournament is still a footrace to the finish line. 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. Following Thursday night's action, the Rebels are still eighth with 12 points, as the fifth through 10th-place teams are separated by just six points.
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 victory, 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
Ole Miss closes out the 2016 regular season at No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 27, with first kick set for 7 p.m. ET/6 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.
