Soccer Ready for Tough Road Test Versus No. 8 Gamecocks

			OLE MISS (8-4-3, 2-2-3) at #8 SOUTH CAROLINA (11-1-2, 5-0-1) Thursday, Oct. 24 • 6 p.m. • Columbia, S.C. Eugene E. Stone III Stadium
Watch • Live Stats • Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • South Carolina Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

QUICK KICKS
• The Rebels are coming off of a 1-1 tie with Alabama last Thursday, the lone match of the week for Ole Miss.

• Julia Phillips scored Ole Miss' goal in the contest, her fifth of the season. Phillips' had scored just three times in her previous three seasons combined.

• Ashley Orkus made a career-high 10 saves in the match, the most for the Rebs since Marnie Merritt recorded 10 stops at Texas A&M in 2017.

• No Rebel has made more than 10 saves in a match since Sarah Story registered 11 against Arkansas in 2010.

• It was the sixth overtime game of the season for Ole Miss. The Rebels are undefeated in overtime in 2019, posting a 3-3 record.

• The six overtime games is the most in a single season in program-history.

• Ole Miss has allowed one goal or fewer in eight of 15 matches this season.

• The Rebels are currently tied for seventh in the SEC standings with nine points. The top 10 seeds receive a bid to the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala.

• This week's opponents, South Carolina and LSU, currently sit second and 14th in the standings, respectively.

• The Rebels will be seeking their first win at South Carolina since 2012 on Thursday in Columbia.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
The Gamecocks are in their 19th season under head coach Shelley Smith, who has built the South Carolina program into a consistent powerhouse in the SEC and nationwide. Under Smith, South Carolina has received 11 bids to the NCAA Tournament and have won the SEC regular season Championship three times, including two of the last three. Smith is just 13 victories from reaching 300 for her career.

Despite having to settle for a point in each of their last two matches, South Carolina enters Thursday with an 11-1-2 overall record, remaining undefeated in SEC play at 5-0-2. Among the Gamecocks' 11 wins are two over ranked sides in No. 21 NC State and No. 13 Arkansas. South Carolina's lone loss of the season came in a 1-0 defeat to in-state rival No. 20 Clemson in September.

Junior midfielder Lauren Chang paces the Gamecocks with five goals on the season, while forwards Elexa Bahr and Ryan Gareis have each tallied four scores in 2019. Bahr has also dished out seven helpers to not only lead the Gamecocks in assists, but also points with 15. Samantha Chang is second on the team with four assists, while 12 players in total have registered at least one of South Carolina's 26 assists. In goal, three-time All-SEC keeper Mikayla Krzeczowski has started all 14 matches, posting a paltry 0.43 GAA with a .786 save percentage in 1255 minutes. However, the Carolina defense has limited Krzeczowski's work, needing to make just 22 saves through 14 contests.

SERIES HISTORY - SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina leads the all-time series with Ole Miss 10-5-3, winning seven of the last 10 meetings. Ole Miss has enjoyed little success when visiting Columbia, entering Thursday's clash with a 2-6-1 overall record against the Gamecocks in the Palmetto State.

LAST MEETING - SOUTH CAROLINA (9/29/17)
OXFORD, Miss. - In the first top 20 home matchup in school history, No. 18 Ole Miss fell to No. 3 South Carolina, 2-0, at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.

An early goal within the first 10 minutes, and a second early in the second half, proved to be the difference as the Gamecocks maintained first place in the SEC, while the Rebels drop to 2-2 in the league.

South Carolina controlled the opening minutes offensively, posting 11 shots within the first 45 minutes. Three of those were on goal, including Elexa Bahr's strike at the 9:11 mark. Savannah McCaskill played to her from the 18-yard box, before Bahr flicked it in from the far corner of the box giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage.

Ole Miss had a good look in the 25th minute when Mary Kate Smith put a cross in from the near side, CeCe Kizer one-touched, and Julia Phillips posted a left-footed attempt that was saved straight on by the keeper.

The Rebels went on to post four shots in the opening period, three of which were on target, as the Gamecocks held a 1-0 lead at the half. Coming out of the break, the Rebels had one of their best chances of the night when CeCe Kizer created space in the box, then punched a left-footed attempt that was blocked just in front of the goal.

ROSTER CONNECTIONS
- South Carolina midfielder Claire Griffins and Rebel midfielder Fain Buete both hail from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Griffins attended Millbrook HS while Buete played at Heritage HS.
- South Carolina goalkeeper Anne Frances Lorio and Ole Miss keeper Lizah Pistorio are both from Charlotte, North Carolina. While Lorio played at Christ the King Catholic HS, Pistorio attended Providence HS.

ORKUS NAMED DPOTW
Sophomore goalkeeper Ashley Orkus was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9 of the season after registering a career-high 10 saves in Ole Miss' 1-1 draw with Alabama. Orkus became the first Rebel with double digit saves in a match since Marnie Merritt also made 10 stops at Texas A&M in 2017. A Rebel keeper has not made more than 10 saves since the 2010 season, when Sarah Story posted 11 saves at Arkansas.

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 17th nationally with 17.60 shot attempts per game. While the Rebs would probably like to see their shots on goal average increase, testing the keeper 6.93 times per match is also nothing to sneeze at, ranking fourth in the conference and 62nd nationally.

Individually, Channing Foster leads the SEC with 4.67 shot attempts per match, ranking 11th in the nation overall. Foster is also the league's leader in shot attempts in league play, attempting 4.14 per match. Meanwhile, Haleigh Stackpole's 47 shots in 15 matches brings her average to 3.13 per game in 2019, ranking tied for fifth in the SEC.

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 21 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 69 saves on the season, averaging 4.60 per game. The Rebel keeper has faced 90 total shots in 2019, posting a save percentage of .767 and ranking ninth in the Southeastern Conference. Orkus has made at least five saves in nine of the last 12 matches and 10-of-15 overall.

CARDIAC REBS
This season, the Rebels have been no stranger to a little bonus soccer, having six matches in 2019 extended into extra time. Ole Miss remains undefeated in overtime games in 2019, posting a 3-0-3 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 36 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' 1,363 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 five goals this season. Phillips has found the back of the net five 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 20 shots to record her five goals, putting eight 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 15th in the nation with 6.87 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 nine matches after racking up double digit attempts from the corner flag in four of the season's first five contests. Ole Miss is averaging 3.86 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

Fain Buete

Channing Foster

CeCe Kizer

Marnie Merritt

Ashley Orkus

Julia Phillips

Lizah Pistorio

Mary Kate Smith

Haleigh Stackpole

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