The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Mott Weekly Press Conference
9/19/2016 | Soccer
Ole Miss Soccer Head Coach Matthew Mott met with members of the media on Monday as part of his weekly press conference. Coach Mott recapped last weekend's action and also previewed this weekend's matchups versus Mississippi State (Thursday, 6 p.m., SEC Network) and Arkansas (Sunday, 2 p.m., SEC Network).
Opening Statement...
"It was an interesting trip for us this weekend. We headed to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Friday night. We came out and started the game pretty strong. We moved the ball well and got ourselves into a few good spots. We couldn't find the back of the net and gave up a penalty kick late in the first half. They scored to go up 1-0. The second half, we came out again playing pretty well and moving the ball well and giving ourselves some pretty good spots, and we gave up another penalty to another one of their players to go down 2-0. We gave up a late corner kick to lose 3-0. We walked away from the game thinking that wasn't a 3-0 game if you look at the game in between the 18-yard boxes. But that is soccer sometimes and it was certainly painful. We had to travel to Tulsa for our last non-conference game. We showed up to Tulsa and started the game off flying all over the field, and Tulsa, about ten minutes in, gets a ball, plays a player in and it is one shot, one goal. It has been a little of the MO of our team this early. We went into halftime and I challenged them. I challenged the seniors and talked about what it meant to be an Ole Miss Rebel, and to wear the jersey. We haven't really been down that road this year, and they came out and responded. Gretchen Harknett had a great goal. She's one of our forwards and a senior. Addie Forbus came out ten minutes later and scored one off the post and in. We had some great performances. CeCe Kizer was excellent. Liza Harbin was great. Courtney Carroll played well. Alley Houghton, our local player from Lafayette High School played a bunch of minutes for us, and she was coming on really strong at a good time for us. There were a couple of really good freshman performances. Grace Waugh is playing on the back line for us. Good performances for us to get ready for the Magnolia Cup. This is one of the biggest games of the year for us with Mississippi State coming into town. They are having the best year they have had since I have been here. They are very dangerous. They have one of the best players in the league in Mallory Eubanks. She is dangerous. They have a center-back in the back that can kick the ball about 60 or 70 yards and can throw it just as far. She is a big, strong player that we will need to be prepared for. They score a lot of goals. They are very well coached and I expect it to be a great game. When you get these rivalry games, you throw out the records and see who is up for the game. Our guys need to be ready for that game Thursday night at six o'clock. And then it doesn't get any easier. We turn around and play the top team in our league in Arkansas, who knocked off No. 4 Florida. on Friday. I believe they are 9-1 and beat Duke early in the year. They will be nationally ranked and a good team that is playing at a very high level. Two great opportunities for us at home that are nationally televised. We are looking forward to playing at home and getting back on track in the SEC."
On whether he feels the scoring drought is over...
"I just feel like there was a cover on the goal for us, for whatever reason. We were creating chances, but the keeper was saving them or we were hitting it over and wide and all those things that happen when you get into a little scoring slide. Last night Gretchen and Addie scored some great goals, but CeCe had two breakaways that the goalie made some good saves on. Those three are getting really dangerous. Gabby Little is doing a great job for us out wide. So I hope so and think so. The girls felt really good about the performance last night. They come back on the road on a Sunday night, which is hard to do when you played on the road on Friday, and I'm proud of how they responded."
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.
