Soccer to Battle Crimson Tide in Front of National TV Audience

			OLE MISS (8-4-2, 2-2-2) vs. ALABAMA (8-4-2, 3-2-1) Thursday, Oct. 17 • 6 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium
Watch • Live Stats • Ole Miss Notes • Alabama Notes • SEC Notes

QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss split its two matches this past week, defeating No. 19 Florida at home before falling 2-1 on the road at Georgia.

• The victory over Florida was just the third all-time for Ole Miss and the first since 2009. All three of Ole Miss' wins have come in Oxford.

• Channing Foster scored the opening goal for Ole Miss against the Gators, at the time bringing herself into a tie for the second most goals in the SEC with eight for the season.

• The win was just the third this season for the Rebels after conceding first.

• The Rebs couldn't keep the momentum up on Sunday, losing a 1-0 second half lead to Georgia in a 2-1 defeat.

• It was only the second loss in 2019 for Ole Miss after scoring the opening goal of the match.

• Haleigh Stackpole assisted on the game-winning goal against Florida and scored the Rebels' only goal in Athens. Stackpole is now tied for second on the team with four goals and has the second most points of any Rebel (10).

• Ole Miss currently sits at No. 43 in the NCAA RPI report, while Alabama is slotted at No. 27.

• The Rebels squared off with the Crimson Tide in the SEC opener a season ago, defeating Alabama 1-0 behind a Molly Martin header right before the expiration of the first half.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide are in their fifth season under the direction of head coach Wes Hart, who has built a 42-40-10 record during his time in Tuscaloosa. Hart guided Alabama to the third NCAA Tournament bid in program history in 2017, registering a 12-8-1 record during the season, including the first-ever win over a top-10 team with a victory over then-No. 4 Florida State. The win was a special one for Hart, who was an assistant coach for the Seminoles for two seasons before being hired at Alabama.

Alabama enters Thursday's showdown with an identical 8-4-2 overall record to that of Ole Miss. After opening their SEC schedule with two straight losses, the Crimson Tide are undefeated in their last four, going 3-0-1 with wins over Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU. Each of Alabama's four losses in 2019 have come against ranked teams.

Alabama is led in scoring by junior forward Casey Wertz and sophomore forward Riley Mattingly, who have each scored four times this season. Three Crimson Tide players are tied for third on the team in goals in Reyna Reyes, Brynn Martin and Macy Clem, each with three. Wertz is also tied for the team lead in assists, matching freshman midfielder Serena Pham with five helpers. In goal, junior Alex Plavin has started nine matches and put up a 1.22 GAA and a .725 Save percentage. However, during the four match unbeaten streak it's been the AJ Crooks Show. Crooks has played in six matches and started five games in all, boasting a 0.88 GAA and a .773 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY - ALABAMA
Ole Miss holds a commanding 17-8 lead in the all-time series with Alabama, including a 1-0 victory in last season's matchup in Tuscaloosa. Much of the advantage is thanks to a recent good run of form against the Crimson Tide, with the Rebels winning 15 of the last 18 meetings overall. Ole Miss is 10-3 all-time against Alabama in Oxford but lost the last time the two sides faced off at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, a 1-0 overtime win for UA in 2017.

LAST MEETING - ALABAMA (9/13/18)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Molly Martin snagged a lead for Ole Miss just before the halftime whistle and the Rebels made the lone goal stand up, holding off a relentless Alabama attack in the second half to open up Southeastern Conference play with three points.

Marnie Merritt was only forced to make three saves on the night but the senior's presence was felt in many other ways as well. The Huntersville, North Carolina native was pivotal in helping keep the defense's shape and was quick to come off her line when called upon.

After a short feeling-out period to open the game, the first half belonged to the Rebels. Although the two teams each registered four shots in the first 45 minutes, it was Ole Miss that created the most dangerous chances.

Just when it looked like the Rebels would have to settle for a 0-0 score line at the break, Martin broke through with a headed goal in the 45th-minute, setup by a corner kick delivery by Madison Smith and a header back across the face of goal by Grace Johnson.

The second half of play started off pretty evenly but with a lead in hand the Rebels were happy to put numbers behind the ball and utilize their defensive shape to maintain the advantage.

The Crimson Tide produced a few near chances, including a narrowly wide attempt that fooled the Tide fanbase into a frenzy, but the Rebels were able to hold on until the final whistle.

LETTING IT FLY
It's safe to say that there isn't really a player on the Rebel roster that hasn't seen a chance to shoot that they didn't like. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 16th nationally with 17.64 shot attempts per game. While the Rebs would probably like to see their shots on goal average increase, testing the keeper 7.00 times per match is also nothing to sneeze at, ranking fourth in the conference and 56th nationally.

Individually, Channing Foster leads the SEC with 4.71 shot attempts per match, ranking 10th in the nation overall. Foster also ranks second in the conference with 4.17 attempts per game during league play. Meanwhile, Haleigh Stackpole's 45 shots in 14 matches brings her average to 3.21 per game in 2019, ranking sixth in the SEC.

MULLIGAN JOINS THE FRAY
Less than one minute into the second half in Ole Miss' 3-2 victory over Florida, sophomore Lonnie Mulligan scored her first goal of the season, becoming the eighth different Rebel to bag a goal in 2019. Mulligan had been far and away the player with the most shot attempts yet to score, entering the match with 17 attempts. No other Rebel that hadn't yet scored had more than four. It was Mulligan's second goal of her career, scoring against Arkansas in 2018.

PAYING THE PENALTY
An Achilles' heel for Ole Miss in 2019 has been committing fouls in the box and allowing teams a chance to score from the penalty spot. Of the 20 goals allowed this season, six have been scored on penalties, with Rebel opponents being awarded seven penalty shot opportunities overall. The seven penalties committed are already the most ever surrendered in a single season at Ole Miss and is just the seventh season in 25 years committing more than two penalties.

MANNING THE PIPES
Sophomore Ashley Orkus has been tested often throughout her first playing season at Ole Miss and for the most part, the Tennessee transfer has come through with flying colors. Orkus ranks second in the SEC with 59 saves on the season, averaging 4.21 per game. The Rebel keeper has faced 79 total shots in 2019, posting a save percentage of .747 and ranking 10th in the Southeastern Conference. Orkus has made at least five saves in eight of the last 11 matches and 9-of-14 overall.

CARDIAC REBS
This season, the Rebels have been no stranger to a little bonus soccer, having five matches in 2019 extended into extra time. Ole Miss has been extremely successful in overtime contests, posting a 3-0-2 record with a trio of golden goals. Over the previous two seasons, the Rebels played in six overtime games combined without scoring a single golden goal.

IRON WOMAN
Since beginning her collegiate career a season ago, Haleigh Stackpole has been an absolute fixture in the Rebel lineup. The Fort Bragg, North Carolina native has started all 35 matches over the past two seasons while almost never coming off the pitch despite consistently totaling the highest distance travelled as a box-to-box midfielder. Stackpole ranked second on the team during her freshman campaign with 1850 total minutes, just over 84 per match. This season, Stackpole is joined only by Rebel keeper Ashley Orkus in playing every second of the Rebels' 1,253 minutes of game time.

PHILLIPS JOINS THE ATTACK
Senior captain Julia Phillips has seen an uptick in her involvement on the offensive side of the pitch in 2019, ranking second on the team with four goals this season. Phillips has found the back of the net four times this season after scoring only three times in her first 45 collegiate contests combined. The Rebel midfielder has been extremely efficient with her offense, needing just 18 shots to record her four goals, putting seven attempts on frame.

FOSTER ENTERS TOP 10
Midway through her junior season, striker Channing Foster is already one of the most prolific scorers in Ole Miss history. The Murray, Kentucky native scored for the third straight game in the 3-0 victory over Long Beach State, the 26th goal of her career, tying her for 10th most on Ole Miss' all-time career scoring list. Now up to 28, Foster will have a shot to topple CeCe Kizer's record of 48 career goals, set just last season.

FROM THE FLAG
Ole Miss currently ranks 11th in the nation with 7.00 corners per game, third most in the SEC. However, much of the Rebels' total was built up early in the season. The Rebels have failed to register five corners or more in six of the last eight matches after racking up double digit attempts from the corner flag in four of the season's first five contests. Ole Miss is averaging 3.67 corner kick attempts in SEC play, tied for third fewest in the league.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Channing Foster

Grace Johnson

CeCe Kizer

Molly Martin

Marnie Merritt

Lonnie Mulligan

Ashley Orkus

Julia Phillips

Madison Smith

Haleigh Stackpole

The University of Mississippi Athletics