The University of Mississippi Athletics

Matt Mott Weekly Press Conference

10/9/2017 | Soccer



Oct. 9, 2017

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 week's SEC matches at No. 21 Texas A&M and versus LSU, and previewed this Friday's match at Texas A&M (7 p.m., College Station).

Opening Statement...
"We had a crazy weekend. We started in Knoxville, in a game that was something like I have never been a part of in my 27 years. We lost 6-4. I think the game could have ended 10-8. It was a game where almost everything they touched flew into the back of the net. We kept battling, going down 4-1 and got it back to 4-3 before they took another lead, then they scored again. It was really just a crazy game. I am really happy with the way my team fought. Many teams get down 4-1 in the second half and they quit. We never quit the whole game. We kept going at them, bringing in a few girls at the end of the game when it went to 6-3 and they went and got one and had a chance for another one. We came back, dusted ourselves off and came out to play an LSU team that was number 19 in the RPI. LSU is a very good team that always has a very good game with us. We scored a goal with one minute left in the first half to take a lead going into halftime then went up 2-0, which is always dangerous in soccer. They then scored to make it 2-1 and then Marnie Merritt made a brilliant save to keep it 2-1 before we punched two more in to win 4-1. It was a really good, complete game. The backs were good, CeCe Kizer was excellent again and scored two goals. Channing Foster and Molly Martin each scored a goal. We are getting a lot of good production. We scored eight goals in a weekend. I'm not sure we have ever scored eight goals in a weekend and not won both games. It's crazy, but that's just the way the SEC is."

On Tennessee's Offense...
"Tennessee was very good offensively. They got the ball in really good spots and found the back of the net. We have games like that where they just fly in. I feel like every time they were close they were hitting it where Marnie Merritt couldn't get to it. They had not scored like that all year and up until that game, we had only given up five goals all season. We were all shell-shocked. We would claw ourselves back into the game and then they would score again. It's one of those games that you just want to forget as soon as possible. But, scoring four goals you feel good about. When a game's 2-0 you say "oh that's a typical game" but 6-4 you do not see that often, not in soccer. It was like a hockey game."

On Marnie Merritt handling the loss...
"She bounced back. I think she would tell you that was one of her more disappointing games as an Ole Miss Rebel. She came back on Sunday and was great. She made one of the biggest saves she has made all season against LSU at a really critical point. I was really happy the way she bounced back. She's a winner, she's going to be fine and we want and need her back there. That was huge at 2-1 where she made a full-stretch save out of the upper 90 that kept it 2-1 and then we scored a third goal. That goes 2-2 on a hot Sunday, you never know how the game's going to end up. She was huge in the game and really won us the game on that save if you ask me."

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.

Players Mentioned

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