Soccer Prepped for Showdown with No. 19 Gators

			OLE MISS (7-3-2, 1-1-2) vs. #19 FLORIDA (8-4-0, 4-0-0) Thursday, Oct. 10 • 7 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium
Watch • Live Stats • Ole Miss Notes • Florida Notes • SEC Notes

QUICK KICKS
• The Rebels are coming off of a 3-0 loss at No. 15 Arkansas last Thursday, snapping Ole Miss' three-match unbeaten streak to open up SEC play.

• After being outshot 16-3 in the first half, Ole Miss rebounded to outshoot the Razorbacks 10-8 in the second.

• The 24 shots surrendered to Arkansas were the most in a game in 2019 by Ole Miss and the most since allowing 28 in the 1-1 draw with Texas A&M last season in Oxford.

• Thursday's contest was the first time all season that Ole Miss was held scoreless.

• Ole Miss is currently No. 44 in the NCAA RPI report, falling two places from last week's standing at No. 42.

• This week's opponents, Florida and Georgia, are slotted 11th and 68th, respectively, in the NCAA RPI report.

• Florida is ranked No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, making the Gators the second-straight ranked opponent the Rebels have faced. Ole Miss faced just one ranked team in the season's first 11 matches.

• Florida has won its last nine meetings with Ole Miss, posting a 6-2 record all-time in Oxford. The two sides last met in 2017, a tight 1-0 victory for the Gators in Gainesville.

• The Gators have won each of their last six matches, including their first four contests in SEC play. Florida is one of two SEC teams with a perfect league record.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
Becky Burleigh, in her 25th season in Gainesville, is the only head coach the Florida Gator soccer program has ever known. Burleigh started the Gator program in 1995 following a five-year stint to begin her head coaching career at NAIA Berry College and since has reached nearly unparalleled levels of success. During her first 24 seasons the Gators have received 21 NCAA berths, claimed 14 SEC regular season and 12 SEC Tournament titles, reached the NCAA College Cup twice and won the 1998 NCAA national championship.

After failing to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 a year ago, the Gators have once again risen to national prominence in 2019. Florida is 8-4-0 on the season, including a perfect 4-0 in SEC play, and have registered three wins over ranked teams. The Gators are on a six-match winning streak right on the heels of four-consecutive losses in late August and early September. However, three of those four losses came to teams at the time ranked in the top-5.

The Gators are led in scoring by senior forward/midfielder Vanessa Kara, who has scored eight times on the season, all coming during UF's six-match winning streak. Incredibly, the Drexel transfer has needed just 16 total shots over the stretch to score those eight goals. Canadian national team standout Deanne Rose ranks second on the team with four scores on the season, while junior defender Kit Loferski paces Florida with four assists. In goal, junior Suzi Espinoza has played all 1,085 minutes, posting a 1.16 GAA with a .741 save percentage and five shutouts.

SERIES HISTORY - FLORIDA
The Rebels have struggled to find success throughout the years against the Gators, defeating Florida just twice all-time with the Gators leading the series 21-2-1. Ole Miss has fallen in each of the past nine meetings, last defeating UF in 2009, a 3-2 double overtime victory in Oxford. The Rebels and Gators have met just eight times previously in Oxford, with Florida owning a 6-2 record at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.

LAST MEETING - FLORIDA (9/14/17)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - An early Florida goal in the fourth minute was the difference in an otherwise even match, as No. 24 Ole Miss fell to the No. 7 Gators, 1-0, in the two teams' SEC opener at James G. Pressly Stadium.

It was the 4:43 mark that brought the only score of the night, when the Gators found the net after a cross came in from the far side, it wasn't cleared, and Mayra Pelayo tapped it in from seven yards out. From there, the Rebels controlled the second half of play despite not finding the net.

Ole Miss came out firing in the second period with back-to-back corner kicks in the 63rd that would both be deflected out. CeCe Kizer got space just three minutes later and posted a shot that floated high, forcing another corner. The Rebels went on to post four corners in the final 45 minutes as they continued to apply the pressure to the final whistle.

The Rebels had a good look again in the 72nd when Molly Martin had space to the end line and served into the box, but no one was home to claim it and it was eventually cleared. Ten minutes later, Kizer got a look in space from 18 yards out, but her attempt was right at the Florida keeper to keep the score 1-0.

ROSTER CONNECTIONS
- Rebel freshman Elyse Reed and Gator sophomore Cassidy Lindley both hail from Carmel, Indiana. However, while Reed attended Carmel High School, Lindley played at St. Theodore Guerin Catholic High School.

FIRE AWAY
While Ole Miss has come out of the gates a little slow in 2019 when it comes to scoring in SEC play, with three goals in league play through four games, it hasn't been due to a lack of chances. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in shots per game in 2019 at 18.50 and third in the league during conference play (16.75).

Individually, Channing Foster leads the SEC with 5.00 shot attempts per match, ranking second at 4.75 per contest during league play. Meanwhile, Haleigh Stackpole's 36 shots in 12 matches brings her average to 3.00 per game in 2019, ranking sixth in the SEC.

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 is tied for second in the SEC with 52 saves on the season, averaging 4.33 per game. Orkus has faced 68 total shots in 2019, posting a save percentage of .765, ranking eighth in the Southeastern Conference.

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 34 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' 1,163 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 17 shots to record her four goals, putting six 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 27, Foster will have a shot to topple CeCe Kizer's record of 48 career goals, set just last season.

CORNERS GALORE
If there is one area of the game Ole Miss has particularly excelled at in 2019, it would have to be creating opportunities from the corner flags. The Rebels rank fourth in the nation with 7.75 corners per game, four times registering double digit corners. The chances have paid off, with the Rebs scoring three times directly from a corner kick service. Ole Miss has also excelled on the defensive side of the field during corner delivering. Rebel opponents have taken 60 total corners this season, with none of those chances resulting in goals.

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

CeCe Kizer

Molly Martin

Ashley Orkus

Julia Phillips

Elyse Reed

Haleigh Stackpole

The University of Mississippi Athletics