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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Soccer Opens SEC Tournament with Tennessee
10/30/2016 | Soccer
Match 20 - vs. (7) Tennessee
Date: Oct. 31, 2016
First Kick: 3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Orange Beach, Ala.
Venue: Orange Beach Sportsplex
TV: SEC Network
Glenn Davis (play-by-play)
Heather Mitts (analyst)
Jill Loyden (sideline)
Live Stats: SECSports.com
Series: Tennessee leads 13-4-2
In SEC Tournament: Tied, 1-1
Last Match: Oct. 23, 2015
Ole Miss won, 2-0 (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoccer
FAN INFO
- Tickets
- $5 for adults, $2 for children, sold on site at Orange Beach Sportsplex
- *Only one ticket required for each day
- Bag checks at the gate upon entry
KICKERS
- Ole Miss makes its 17th SEC Tournament appearance, playing in its 24th game all-time in the postseason event.
- The Rebels are 7-16 all-time in the tournament, looking for their first win since 2013.
- After tallying a 4-7 record in league play, the Rebels qualified for the tournament as the No. 10 seed.
- Ole Miss will face Tennessee for the first time this season, and third time overall in the SEC Tournament.
- The two sides met in the 1999 SECT in Nashville, a 1-0 win for Ole Miss, and again in 2003 in Orange Beach, a 2-0 victory for the Vols.
- The Rebels are 4-13-2 all-time against Tennessee, with the Rebels taking last year's meeting in Knoxville, 2-0.
- Since moving to Orange Beach in 2003, and permanently beginning in 2005, Ole Miss is 3-9 in the SEC Tournament, with the three victories coming in 2003, 2012 and 2013.
- Senior Gretchen Harknett earned her way on to the All-SEC Second Team as a midfielder, her second career All-SEC honor after being named All-Freshman in 2013.
- Seniors Melissa Capocaccia and Harknett both earned CoSIDA Academic All-District XI honors.
- Ole Miss is in search of its fourth 10-win season under head coach Matt Mott, and fourth in the last five years.
- Junior Bella Fiorenzo is responsible for two of the Rebels' last three goals, netting one vs. Texas A&M in the win back on Oct. 14, and another in the loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 23. Both scores came off free kicks.
- Senior Addie Forbus currently ranks among some of the nation's active leaders in career games played (85, T-13th), assists (21, T-23rd) and players with 30 goals and 20 assists (81 points, 9th).
- Harknett is also tied for 13th in games played among active career leaders, and will become the Rebels' all-time leader in career starts with her start in Monday's game.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
Led by fifth-year head coach Brian Pensky, the Vols enter SEC Tournament play 10-8-1 overall as the No. 7 seed after finishing with a 5-5-1 mark in SEC action. Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M all tied with 16 points in league play, but a three-way tiebreaker resulted in the Vols receiving the No. 7 seed via points earned in games against. Tennessee dropped its final two games of the regular season, 2-0 vs. No. 2 South Carolina, and 3-1 at No. 13 Auburn last Thursday night. After dropping its SEC opener 5-1 to Alabama, the Vols won their next two over Missouri and Georgia, both by a score of 2-0. They then fell 2-0 at No. 12 Florida and 3-2 in double overtime at Vanderbilt, before going on to top LSU (3-1), Texas A&M (2-0) and Mississippi State (3-0). UT is averaging 1.68 goals per game and allowing 1.47, posting seven shutouts on the year, including four in conference action. The Vols are led by All-American Hannah Wilkinson, who has 29 points on the year with a team-best 10 goals. The graduate student has landed on the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List four years in a row, and is tied for the team lead in assists with nine. Rylie O'Keefe also has nine helpers ranking tied for sixth nationally, and has found the net five times. Jamie Simmons and Shae Yanez have split time in goal this season with Simmons playing 13 games and 909 minutes with 43 saves, while Yanez has seen action in 11 contests and 838 minutes. Yanez has allowed just nine goals for a 0.97 GAA making 40 stops, while Simmons is 4-6 overall in goal with a 1.88 GAA.
SERIES HISTORY - TENNESSEE
Ole Miss broke a 10-year winless streak with the Volunteers in last season's matchup, winning 2-0 in Knoxville. In 19 meetings dating back to 1997, the Rebels have won four times (1997, 1999, 2003, 2015). The series has remained fairly close over the years with 10 contests being decided by just one goal. The two sides have faced off twice in the SEC Tournament, once in Nashville (1999) and once in Orange Beach (2003). The 1999 meeting resulted in a 1-0 victory for the Rebels, while the Vols took the 2003 matchup, 2-0.
LAST TIME OUT
The Rebels put up a hard-fought effort against the SEC Regular Season Champions in Columbia last Thursday night, but two first-half goals pushed the No. 2 Gamecocks to a 2-0 victory. Savannah McCaskill struck first in the 17th minute to go up 1-0, before the Gamecocks added another a minute later in what looked to be a ball out of bounds on the assist on the far sideline. The Rebels came back to post eight shots in the second half, and nearly got on the board after freshman Alley Houghton fired in an attempt from the far side, which deflected off the near post, then rolled along the goal line staying just out of the net.
OLE MISS ALL-TIME IN SEC TOURNAMENT
The Rebels will be taking part in their 17th SEC Tournament dating back to 1997, with a record of 7-16 overall. Ole Miss' last win in the tournament came in 2013, a 2-0 victory over No. 5 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Since the tournament was first held in Orange Beach back in 2003, and 11-straight years since 2005, Ole Miss is 3-9 in Orange Beach with the three wins coming in 2003, 2012 and 2013. The Rebels have faced Tennessee twice in SEC Tournament play, once in 1999 in a 1-0 win in Nashville, and the most recent in 2003, a 2-0 loss in the semifinals in Orange Beach.
OLE MISS ON NATIONAL TV
The Rebels played three-straight home games on national TV from Sept. 22 - Oct. 9, defeating Mississippi State in the Magnolia Cup (Sept. 22, 3-0), while falling to No. 15 Arkansas in a close 2-1 decision (Sept. 25) and No. 16 Florida, 3-0 (Oct. 9). Ole Miss also fell to No. 2 South Carolina, 2-0, on Oct. 27 in the SEC Network wild card game, and will play at least one more nationally-televised contest in the SEC Tournament, its fifth match on the network this season. Ole Miss holds a 10-16-6 record all-time in TV games, including a 2-5-2 mark in matches on SEC Network.
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
Ole Miss had a different starting lineup in more than half of its 19 regular season matches, totaling 11 different starting 11 looks this season. Even with 11 different lineup combos this year, five of the personnel on field have remained the same in Marnie Merritt (GK), Addie Forbus (F), Gretchen Harknett (MF), Liza Harbin (D), Melissa Capocaccia. Furthermore, 18 different Rebels have starts this season, including five true freshmen.
HARKNETT, CAPOCACCIA NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Seniors Melissa Capocaccia and Gretchen Harknett were recognized last week by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for their success both on the field and in the classroom. The pair earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers. Capocaccia and Harknett took up two of the spots on the District 6 list and now will be eligible for Academic All-America status.
Harknett, the Rebels' academic captain this season, has been a mainstay on the attacking line throughout her career, ranking in the top 10 in school history in both career games played and starts. Off the field, Harknett has maintained a 3.88 GPA majoring in Biochemistry, and has landed on the SEC Academic honor roll each year with the program. Capocaccia, also a four-year starter, has helped anchor the backline starting in all but 10 matches throughout her career. Off the field, the senior has been a standout with her undergraduate degree already in hand, while pursuing her Master's in Speech Pathology. Her 3.83 career GPA has earned her SEC Academic Honor Roll accolades three times.
HARKNETT EARNS SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC ACCOLADES
Senior Gretchen Harknett earned All-SEC Second Team honors as the Rebels' lone player on the All-SEC list. The Memphis native tallied nine points off three goals and three assists in the regular season, ranking third on the team in both categories. Harknett dished out two helpers in SEC play, one against Mississippi State and one at Kentucky. The postseason conference award is the second for Harknett after she earned All-Freshman SEC honors in 2013.
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.
