Soccer's SEC Tourney Run Continues Tuesday vs. Arkansas

			OLE MISS (10-6-3, 3-4-3) vs. No. 6 ARKANSAS (14-2-2, 8-1-1) Tuesday, Nov. 5 • 5 p.m. • Orange Beach, Ala. Orange Beach Sportsplex
Watch • Live Stats • Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Arkansas Notes (PDF) • SEC Tournament Bracket (PDF)

QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss is coming off of a dramatic 2-1 win over rival Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament First Round, with Gabby Little striking back about 15 seconds after the Bulldogs equalized on a penalty kick in the 89th minute.

• The win snapped a five-match losing streak in Orange Beach for the Rebels, the first Ole Miss win in the SEC Tournament since 2013.

• It also extended Ole Miss' record undefeated streak against Mississippi State to seven matches.

• Prior to Sunday's match, Channing Foster was named First Team All-SEC, while Mo O'Connor was recognized on the SEC All-Freshman team.

• Foster became the seventh player in program-history to be named All-SEC at least three times in her career.

• Ole Miss will be facing off against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament for the third year in a row. The Razorbacks have gotten the better end of the Rebels in the first two matches, winning by margins of 1-0 and 4-0.

• Ole Miss is hoping to avenge a 3-0 loss to the Razorbacks suffered back in early October in Fayetteville.

• It will be the sixth match of the season against a ranked opponent for Ole Miss. The Rebels are 1-4 in the first five matchups with ranked foes.

• With a win, Ole Miss will advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals for just the sixth time ever and the first since 2013.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks are in their eight season under head coach Colby Hale, who has led Arkansas to five NCAA Tournament appearances in hist first seven campaigns in Fayetteville, including each of the last three. Prior to taking over the Razorback program in 2012, the 2019 SEC Coach of the Year spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at UCF.

The Razorbacks are in the midst of possibly the greatest season in program history, claiming the program's first-ever SEC regular season title after finishing with an 8-1-1 league record. Arkansas enters Tuesday's matchup with a 14-2-2 overall record, with the only losses coming against Oklahoma and then-No. 8 South Carolina. The Hogs have registered four ranked wins in 2019, taking down No. 22 Baylor, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 15 Vanderbilt and No. 18 Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks are led in scoring by the SEC Freshman of the Year, Anna Podojil, who has tallied 12 goals in her first collegiate season to go along with six assists. Junior forward Parker Goins is next up with nine goals and nine assists for 27 points, while senior midfielder Stefani Doyle and junior midfielder Taylor Malham have bagged eight and seven goas, respectively. The Razorback defense, anchored by SEC Co-Defender of the Year Haley VanFossen, has allowed just seven goals this season. Senior goalkeeper Katie Lund has started all 18 matches, posting a 0.39 GAA with a .881 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY - ARKANSAS
Despite dropping two-straight meetings against Arkansas, Ole Miss continues to hold a commanding lead in the all-time series at 17-8-2. However, much of that lead was built in the early days of th eseries, with Ole Miss rattling off 11-straight wins over the Razorbacks after falling in the first two meetings between the two teams in 1995 and 1996. Since 2008, things have evened out, with the series tied at 6-6-2 in the last 14 matchups. The two sides have met up in both of the past two SEC Tournaments, with Arkansas winning both matchups by a total margin on 5-0.

LAST MEETING - ARKANSAS (10/3/19)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A two goal halftime deficit proved too much to overcome for Ole Miss as No. 15 Arkansas defeated the Rebels 3-0 at Razorback Field.

Ole Miss weathered an early storm from the Razorbacks as Arkansas created a handful of scoring chances in the first 10 minutes or so of the match. However, a bit of unfortunate luck put the Rebels behind in the 18th minute when a wicked deflection off of a Tori Cannata shot gave Ashley Orkus no chance to make a save.

Arkansas doubled its lead in the 34th minute on a penalty after a foul was called near the top of the 18-yard box. Haley Van Fossen stepped up to take the kick and hit her shot up the middle to evade a diving Orkus.

Though Arkansas controlled possession for the large majority of the first frame and took a two-goal lead into the break, during the last 10 minutes of the half Ole Miss started to turn the pendulum of momentum ever so slightly in its favor.

That momentum continued into the start of the second stanza. The Rebels completely flipped the script from the opening 45 minutes, dominating possession and creating numerous chances throughout the second half.

However, the goal just never came and in the final minute Arkansas struck on the counter and put home a third. Ole Miss put up 10 shots in the final 45 minutes but couldn't make any of them count, dropping its first SEC match of the season.

DRAMA QUEEN
Gabby Little has scored twice in her final season at Ole Miss but the senior captain has saved her scoring output for the crucial moments, twice bagging a game-winning goal in the waning moments of a contest. After scoring a golden goal against Minnesota with less than a minute remaining in the second overtime period, Little some how managed to outdo herself. About 15 seconds after a penalty kick goal allowed Mississippi State to draw even with Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament, Little put away the game-winner in the 89th minute, lifting the Rebels to their first win in Orange Beach since 2013. The two goals are just the second and third game-winners of Little's career.

FOSTER, O'CONNOR EARN SEC POSTSEASON HONORS
The SEC released its postseason awards on Sunday, with Ole Miss' Channing Foster and Mo O'Connor both being recognized. Foster was named First Team All-SEC for the first time in her career after landing on the second team both of her first two collegiate seasons, becoming just the seventh player in program-history to be named All-SEC three times. If Foster can earn an All-SEC place next season as well, she will become Ole Miss' second-ever four-time honoree. Meanwhile, Oxford product O'Connor was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after scoring twice in her rookie season, being recognized as one of the league's top-11 freshmen.

LITTLE NAMED TO SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Senior forward was recently named to the Southeastern Conference's Community Service Team, recognizing the four-year Rebel for her work in the Oxford community. The Ole Miss captain has used her platform as a college athlete to give back to her supporters in the Lafayette County area, donating her time to various organizations such as the Rebel soccer team's FNC Park Soccer Buddy program, Ole Miss' Bahamas Relief Drive for Hurricane Dorian, The Awesome Lemonade Stand, Reading with the Rebels, Adopt a Basket, a Night to Shine and so much more.

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 4th in the SEC and 26th nationally with 16.89 shot attempts per game. While the Rebs would probably like to see their shots on goal average increase, testing the keeper 6.89 times per match is also nothing to sneeze at, ranking fourth in the conference and 68th nationally.

Individually, Channing Foster leads the SEC with 4.42 shot attempts per match, ranking 20th in the nation overall. Foster also ranked second in the conference in shot attempts in league play, attempting 4.00 per match. Meanwhile, Haleigh Stackpole's 55 shots in 19 matches brings her average to 2.95 per game in 2019, ranking sixth 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 26 goals allowed this season, seven have been scored on penalties, with Rebel opponents being awarded eight penalty shot opportunities overall. The eight penalties committed are 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 2nd in the SEC with 88 saves on the season, averaging 4.63 per game. The Rebel keeper has faced 114 total shots in 2019, posting a save percentage of .779 for 7th in the league. Orkus has made at least five saves in 10 of the last 16 matches and 11-of-19 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 leads all field players with 1,810 minutes of play, leaving the pitch for just a total of three minutes in 2019.

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 efficient with her offense, needing just 24 shots to record her five goals, putting nine 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. Up to 30, Foster now sits in a tie for seventh in the Rebel record book.

FROM THE FLAG
Ole Miss currently ranks 18th in the nation with 6.63 corners per game, 3rd 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 eight of the last 13 matches after racking up double digit attempts from the corner flag in four of the season's first five contests. Ole Miss averaged 4.70 corner kick attempts in SEC play, the fifth 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

Gabby Little

Marnie Merritt

Mo O'Connor

Ashley Orkus

Julia Phillips

Haleigh Stackpole

The University of Mississippi Athletics