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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Road Test at Alabama Awaits Rebel Soccer
10/5/2016 | Soccer
Match 14 - at Alabama
Date: Oct. 6, 2016
First Kick: 7 p.m.
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Venue: University of Alabama Soccer Complex
TV: SEC Network +
Roger Hoover (play-by-play)
Jessie Gardner (analyst)
Live Stats: RollTide.com
Series: Ole Miss leads, 15-7
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoccer
KICKERS
- Ole Miss plays its second-straight match on the road Thursday at Alabama for the 23rd meeting all-time.
- Alabama enters the contest seventh in the SEC standings with seven points (2-2-1), while the Rebels are tied for eighth with six points (2-3-0).
- The Rebels lead the series with Alabama, 15-7, while the two teams have each won five times in games played in Tuscaloosa.
- Dating back to 2011 Ole Miss has won five-straight in the series, having not lost in Tuscaloosa since 2010.
- Ole Miss is coming off a huge road win at Kentucky last Saturday. The Rebels came from behind late in the match to send it to double overtime, and scored the game-winner in the 101st minute for their second league win in the last three outings.
- The Rebels have four of their final six games left on the road, including Thursday's match at Alabama, and three-straight trips to end the regular season at Georgia (Oct. 20), at Vanderbilt (Oct. 23) and at South Carolina (Oct. 27). The top 10 teams in the league advance to the SEC Tournament, which is set for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
- In the win at Kentucky, freshman Alley Houghton stole the show in the 101st minute when she flicked in the game-winner off an Addie Forbus free kick for the first collegiate goal of her young career.
- Sophomore CeCe Kizer has seven points in her last three games after scoring twice against Mississippi State, once against Arkansas, and providing an assist in the win at Kentucky.
- The Rebels have had eight different starting lineups this season and 17 different players draw a start. Despite that, seven players have remained the same in all 13 contests, and four of the seven freshmen have starts.
- Senior Addie Forbus continues to climb the career offensive charts, moving up to sixth in career assists (21).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Led by second-year head coach Wes Hart, the Crimson Tide are making a case for one of the nation's most improved teams after winning just five games a year ago. Alabama is 7-4-1 on the season and 2-2-1 in SEC play after its best start to a season in 11 years. After winning six of its first seven matches, the Crimson Tide have won just one game in the last five outings. Alabama began SEC play with a big 5-1 win at Tennessee, before going on to tie Kentucky, 1-1 on the road, and following that up with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 15 Arkansas. The Crimson Tide then hosted No. 14 Texas A&M and pulled the 2-1 upset, also in overtime, before dropping its most recent match to Mississippi State, 1-0, in Starkville last Friday. Other wins for Alabama came over Sam Houston (5-0), Murray State (4-2), Campbell (4-0), Chattanooga (1-0) and Florida Gulf Coast (1-0). Non-conference losses came to No. 20 South Florida (1-0) and Samford (1-0). Alabama boasts a scoring duo in Abbie Boswell and Lacey Clarida, who have both netted six goals thus far accounting for half of the team's goal production. Boswell is also tied for the team lead in assists with six, while Emma Welch, a member of the SEC Preseason Watch list, also has six helpers. The Crimson Tide is averaging 2.00 goals per game with 18.1 shots per game, while holding opponents to just 0.83 goals per contest. Kat Stratton has played nearly all the minutes in goal with 49 saves, three shutouts and just 10 goals allowed.
SERIES HISTORY - ALABAMA
Alabama and Ole Miss have met 22 times in the series dating back to 1995, with the Rebels taking the last five contests. Ole Miss holds the advantage all-time, 15-7, over the Crimson Tide, while the series is tied, 5-5, in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels' last two matches in Tuscaloosa have resulted in 1-0 victories, as Ole Miss has nine shutouts all-time in the series, including three on the road. The last matchup between the two sides resulted in a come-from-behind, 3-2 win for Ole Miss erasing a two-goal halftime deficit to score three goals within 17 minutes in the second half. Dating back to the 2005 matchup, the Rebels have outscored Alabama, 23-6, recording seven shutouts over the Crimson Tide in that 11-game stretch.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
Ole Miss picked up its first SEC road win last weekend at Kentucky. The Rebels went into Lexington having not won in the Bluegrass State since 2011, but came away victorious after a dramatic, come-from-behind win in double overtime. In the pouring rain and chilly temperatures, the Rebels fell behind 1-0 late in the match at the 78:39 mark, but six minutes later, evened it back up. Junior Liza Harbin provided the equalizer off a double assist from Gretchen Harknett and CeCe Kizer. The two sides went into overtime, Ole Miss' first of the year, and still remain locked at 1-1 after the first 10 minute period. But, two minutes into the second, it was the freshman Alley Houghton who took Addie Forbus' assist and flicked it in for the game-winner and her first career goal. Ole Miss finished with just three shots in the match while Kentucky had 19, but it was the Rebels' two late shots that mattered as Ole Miss picked up three pivotal points in the SEC standings to jump to a tie for eighth entering play this week.
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
Through 13 matches, head coach Matt Mott has drawn up eight different starting lineups. After starting the year with identical lineups against Louisiana and Northwestern State, the Rebels made a switch at midfield that lasted for two contests against Memphis and Lipscomb. The non-conference match at Michigan brought the third different starting 11, as did games versus Missouri, South Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State. Even with eight different lineup combinations thus far, six of the personnel on field have remained the same (Merritt, GK; Forbus, F; Harknett, F; Kizer, MF; MF; Harbin, D; Capocaccia, D; Meador, D). The biggest switch in the lineup all season has come at midfield and at one defender spot. Furthermore, 17 different Rebels have starts this season, including three true freshmen.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss returns home to the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium Sunday for a battle with No. 16 Florida, which will air on SEC Network at 5 p.m.
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.
