Soccer Practice Report: Nov. 13

OXFORD, Miss. – With the fall regular season in the rearview mirror, Ole Miss sets its sights on the upcoming SEC Tournament, which kicks off later today. Receiving a first round bye, Ole Miss will kick off its tournament run on Sunday in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Earlier this week, head coach Matt Mott, senior Channing Foster and freshman Ramsey Davis sat down with our own Seth Austin to chat about the team's week of practice and the outlook of the match.

CARDIAC REBS
With back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, Ole Miss soccer is catching fire at the right time. The team's 'never give up' attitude and recent offensive frenzy have propelled them into a prime position to make a run in the SEC Tournament.

"Our belief in each other, we just come into every game and have been hype and have not let up even when we go down," said Foster. "We've just fought. The fight in this team is crazy. Every single game, especially the last two or three, we've just fought our way back and clawed back into it. It's really something special."

As of late, the Rebels are looking like a team with renewed energy and new life as they head to The Beach this weekend.

"At the beginning of the season, we talked a lot about getting the cover off the goal," said Davis. "We were trying to figure out formations and stuff. Honestly from the beginning to now, it's a whole different team, and I'm excited to go into the tournament."

AN EMERGING STAR
In last week's come-from-behind victory over No. 13 Vanderbilt, Davis scored her first collegiate goal. The equalizer came in the 86th minute as the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native knocked the ball in after it deflected off the keeper. It all happened so fast that Davis actually had to go back and relive her first goal.

"I wish I could say I remember it honestly," said Davis. "During the game, I remember everyone screaming and the ball in the back of the net, and I turned around and was like 'what happened?' I couldn't even remember it exactly until I watched it back, but I was super excited."

The freshman from IMG Academy is no stranger to competition. She enrolled early last spring and has put in the work to cement her spot in the starting lineup.

"She is so tough," said Foster. "We'll watch back film, and our offense will lose the ball somewhere up the field, and she's the first person sprinting back. It doesn't matter if it's 80 yards, she is going to track back and she just has a lot of fight in her. She's really fast, and she's got a great strike. She's just a really awesome all-around player, and she plays with a lot of heart."

Teammates on and off the pitch enjoy Davis' presence and energy. When asked about the outgoing freshman, Mott couldn't help but smile.

"I have to laugh because that's just who she is," said Mott. "She is laughing and smiling all the time. It doesn't matter if she's kicking you or running sprints, she is happy and smiling all the time. She is great to be around, she has great energy and the team loves her. She's come on as a freshman and done really well. I think she's someone who is going to be a really important player for us for a number of years."

ALL CONFERENCE HONORS
Just before heading off to the Beach, a trio of Rebels were recognized by the SEC will All-Conference honors. Ashley Orkus was unanimously named SEC Goalkeeper of the Year, receiving all 13 possible votes from the league's head coaches.

"It's awesome," said Mott. "I'm super happy for all three of them for different reasons. Ashley has burst onto the scene this year. She was really good last year but maybe didn't get some of the attention or credit and now people really realize how quality of a goalkeeper she is. She's just been instrumental to us this season."

Chanel Thomas also garnered Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, recognizing an outstanding career both on and off the pitch.

"Coco is just a big-time student and great player for us," said Mott. "It goes without saying, she won the Taylor medal here at Ole Miss… which is really impressive, and I don't think people realize how prestigious an award that is here. So, for her to back that up with Scholar-Athlete of the year is really special. I'm really happy foy her."

Rounding out the honorees was Foster, with her second-consecutive First Team All-SEC nod. In each year of her collegiate career at Ole Miss, the Murray, Kentucky, native has earned all-conference honors and will go down in the record books as one of the best to ever lace them up for the Rebels.

"Channing, this is her fourth one in a row," said Mott. "The only other person to do it was Danielle Johnson, who's a Hall of Famer here at Ole Miss, so that just speaks volume of what she's meant to our program and to our team. As a player, she changed positions halfway through the year and did it with a smile on her face, and she's playing really well."

"I've just been very, very blessed," said Foster after hearing the news. "I've had some amazing teammates to play with me all four years. I've been able to be a part of some really special teams and have just had incredible coaches encouraging me, pushing me and putting me in the best spot every step of the way."

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
On Wednesday, Rebel nation welcomed seven new members in the recruiting class of 2021. While Mott and his team are focused on The Beach, the future looks bright for Ole Miss soccer.

"We're going to have a bigger roster than we typically have and bigger than maybe we've ever had this coming up 2021 season, but I'm excited about it. They're seven really good players that Rob Thompson and Jessica Hiskey have done a great job of finding the right fit. Here at Ole Miss it's about the right fit, so they've done a really great job going out and identifying who fits best in what we're trying to do. I'm super excited about the seven and I'm super excited that four of the seniors are coming back, so it was an exciting day for us."

TOURNAMENT TIME
Heading into the 2020 SEC Tournament, the sixth-seeded Rebels carry a lot of confidence and momentum. The team just cracked the United Soccer Coaches Poll coming in at No. 14 and is riding high as they prepare to face the winner of Alabama and LSU in their opener of the SEC Tournament. Having played both teams earlier in the season, they are attacking the matchup with a fresh slate.

"We've made that error in the past where we played a team that we beat in the regular season and maybe took them a little lightly, and they punched us in the mouth," said Mott. "Arkansas did it to us a couple years ago, so we've got to be ready. I told the team we are approaching both of these teams as if we've never played them before because that's how you have to do it. Really, LSU we played in our second game of the season, and then we played at Bama four weeks ago. They are going to be different, so we have to prepare for a really good SEC team. Both of those teams we have a ton of respect for, I think they're good teams, so we have to be at our best for sure to move on in the tournament on Sunday."

In a wacky season unlike any other, Ole Miss has overcome obstacle after obstacle, but in its last few games, the team has come together to figure out its identity.

"I think we just need to keep doing what we're doing," said Davis. "When we started, we had a lot of individual strengths, and we finally figured out how to put that into a team setting. If we just keep shooting and playing as a team like we did against Georgia and Vanderbilt, I think it's going to be really good for us."

Entering a win-or-go-home scenario, the Rebels are prepared to leave it all out on the pitch on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT.

"Matt always says the most important game is the next game on our schedule," said Foster. "So, we just take it a game at a time and go into every single game like it's our last. Especially with the tournament now being single elimination, we've got to look at every single game as important and can't look past to the next game. We need to come out in the first game and be ready to fight from the start."

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

Ramsey Davis

Channing Foster

Ashley Orkus

Chanel Thomas

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