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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Georgia
Soccer Set for Neutral Site Match with Georgia
3/5/2021 | Soccer
Rebels Travel to Montevallo Saturday
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OLE MISS (6-5-0, 4-4-0) vs. GEORGIA (3-4-2, 2-3-2) Saturday, March 6 • 1 p.m. • Montevallo, Ala. Varsity Soccer Field |
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| LIVE STATS • OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) | ||||||||
QUICK KICKS
• The Rebels faced off against the Bulldogs in the fall, winning 4-3 off a free kick from Foster in the 90th minute. The two SEC teams will meet for the second time this season, in a non-conference matchup.
• Haleigh Stackpole recorded her first career brace, in Monday's 3-1 derby win over Memphis. It marked the junior's first time scoring multiple goals in a game.
• After defeating No. 18 Memphis for the first time in three seasons, the Rebels are receiving the seventh most votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Ole Miss reached as high as No. 14 in the poll back in November, its first ranking since the 2017 season. The Rebels are looking to climb their way back into the Top-25 and position themselves for postseason play.
• Senior Channing Foster bagged the game winner in the Rebels 1-0 victory over Samford on Thursday night. The First Team All-SEC Forward sent a rocket off her left foot up and into the back of the net. It marked her NCAA leading fourth game-winning goal of the season.
• Ahead of the spring season, Channing Foster and Ashley Orkus were among the 56 athletes named to the watchlist for the 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in college soccer.
• With the 32nd pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, the Chicago Red Stars selected Channing Foster. The Senior Forward is returning to Ole Miss for the spring season and plans to play in the Fall of 2021 as well.
• In November, the SEC released its 2020 postseason awards, with Ole Miss keeper Ashley Orkus being named the unanimous choice for Goalkeeper of the Year. Orkus was also a First Team All-SEC honoree.
• Channing Foster joined Orkus on the first team, becoming just the second Rebel ever to be named All-SEC four times in a career.
• After scoring just one in its first four matches, Ole Miss tallied ten goals in the final five contests of the fall season.
• Ole Miss finished the fall regular season tied for the fifth most points in the SEC, earning 12 total with a 4-4 record. They bowed out of the SEC Tournament with a 2-1 overtime loss to LSU.
SCOUTING GEORGIA
Billy Lesesne is in his sixth season as head coach at Georgia, collecting a 30-55-15 record along the way. The Bulldogs finished the fall season with a 2-4-2 record, bowing out of the SEC Tournament after a 1-2 loss to Auburn. Since then, Georgia has played one spring game, picking up a 2-1 victory over Kennesaw State.
Having previously met this fall, the two team's will be fairly familiar with each other. The Rebels picked up a 4-3 win in comeback fashion. Entering the match, the Dawgs have scored 10 goals as a team. They are led in scoring by junior midfielder Abby Boylan with four goals. Senior forward Mollie Belisle has a pair of goals herself, while a quartet of Bulldogs follow with one goal apiece. Sophomore forward Mallie McKenzie has collected four of the team's seven assists, playing an instrumental role in Georgia's attack.
In goal, junior keeper Emory Wegener has been outstanding, ranking fourth in the SEC in goals against-average at 1.07 and fifth in save percentage at .786. In eight starts, Wegener has surrendered just nine goals, making 33 saves along the way.
SERIES HISTORY
In a tight, back-and-forth affair over the years, Georgia holds a slight 11-10-3 advantage over the Rebels in the all-time series, with neither side recording a winning streak longer than three matches in the 23 meetings. The Rebs and Bulldogs have squared off nine times during the Matt Mott era, with Georgia gaining the edge at 4-3-2. The two SEC teams met in Oxford in the fall, with the Rebels pulling out a 4-3 thriller in Oxford.
LAST MEETING
OXFORD, Miss. – On a night where goals were flying in for both sides, Ole Miss got the last laugh on Saturday, overcoming multiple deficits and scoring in the final minute to defeat No. 14 Georgia 4-3 on Senior Day at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
While the Rebels looked dangerous attacking in the opening minutes of the match, it was Georgia who garnered an early lead, taking advantage of a free kick to go up 1-0 in the 11th minute. A few minutes later, another header proved lethal for Georgia.
However, the Rebels kept their nerve and battled back. A wonderful solo effort from Stackpole got the Rebels on the board. The junior scored from about 20 yards out to make it 2-1 in the 29th minute. Not long after, the Rebs clawed back again to tie the score at 2-2 just before the end of the first half. Orkus came all the way from her goal into the attacking half of the field to take a free kick that Molly Martin flicked into the path of Pezzino, who squeezed a shot inside the far post.
In the 63rd minute, the Bulldogs recaptured the lead. Mckenzie again provided the assist, sending the ball into the box to meet Mollie Belisle. Belisle brought the ball down, turned and fired into the left side of goal, giving Orkus no chance to save.
Pezzino made no mistake a few short minutes later, nearly replicating her first goal identically. Orkus again sent in a free kick for Martin, who flicked the ball on for the New York native. Pezzino met the ball in stride, volleying it in with her left from right at the six-yard box. However, Ole Miss was still not satisfied.
With Georgia committing a foul just outside the 18-yard box, the Rebels remained calm with plenty of time to set up the crucial moment. Foster and Stackpole stood over the ball and after the latter feigned a shot with her right to move Wegener off her mark, Foster unleashed a sweet strike with her left, perfectly picking out the far corner to secure the late-game winner.
DERBY DUB
Haleigh Stackpole's brace and a flurry of offense to start the second half helped the Rebels dominate Memphis, 3-1, in the 23rd iteration of the derby between the two sides. Ole Miss came out of the half with a chip on its shoulder after the Tigers scored a last-second goal with a just a couple of tenths of a second left on the clock. Stackpole scored twice in the first eight minutes of the half as the Rebels pressed the Memphis back line and took the lead. Saydie Holland added the dagger in the 58th minute to give Ole Miss a two goal advantage. Orkus locked down the goal making five saves in the match. With the victory, the Rebels earned their first win in the rivalry in three years.
FIREWORKS IN OXFORD
After a bit of a scoring slump in the fall, the Rebels have been fortunate to watch the ball find the back of the net four times through their first two spring matches. Channing Foster netted the game-winner for Ole Miss against Samford in the 83rd minutes. Against Memphis, the Rebels scored three goals in a span of just over 10 minutes in the second half, with two of them coming from Haleigh Stackpole. The junior sent the equalizer off her left foot, striking it into the upper 90 and pounced again on a free kick from the top of the box five minutes later. Holland also contributed to the scoring, finding her first goal at home this season.
SPRING SOCCER ANYONE?
For the first time ever, the Rebels will compete in the spring after the SEC shortened the fall season to 8 regular-season games and the NCAA pushed back championship events to the spring. This gives Ole Miss a unique opportunity to compete in non-conference action and play for a spot in the tournament. The Rebels will play five home games in the spring in addition to two true road matches and a neutral site contest. While Ole Miss will play SEC foe Georgia in the spring, the matches will not count toward either team's league record.
AND WITH THE 32ND PICK…
For the second time in three years, an Ole Miss Rebel heard her name called during the National Women's Soccer League College Draft, with senior Channing Foster being selected with the 32nd overall pick by the Chicago Red Stars. Despite the opportunity to enter the professional ranks, Foster intends to return to Ole Miss for a fifth season of eligibility in the fall of 2021 and will suit up for the Rebels this spring. The Murray, Kentucky, native is a familiar face to the Red Stars organization, having played for the club's Women's Premier Soccer League affiliate, helping lead the Chicago Red Stars Reserves to a WPSL Central Region Championship. The Reds Stars have also been on the wrong end of the senior's lethal left foot, with Foster scoring a stoppage time winner for the U-23 USWNT over Chicago in the 2019 Thorns Spring Invitational.
BEST OF THE BEST
Ole Miss' Channing Foster and Ashley Orkus are among 56 athletes have been named to the 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. The duo become the first Rebels to be named to the coveted watch list since CeCe Kizer in 2018. Ole Miss is one of six SEC schools with at least one player named to the watch list and one of three with multiple honorees, joining Arkansas and Texas A&M.
MOTT BOLSTERS DEFENSE WITH TRANSFER SYDNEY ASH
Matt Mott went out and added another key defender in Virginia Tech transfer Sydney Ash this January. A product of Riverside High School and FC Virginia DA, Ash brings two years of collegiate experience with her. Ash appeared in five matches for Virginia Tech as a freshman in 2019, playing a total of 134 minutes before her rookie campaign was cut short due to injury. She also missed the first four matches of the 2020 season before ultimately making eight appearances with seven starts on the back line. In addition to helping guide the Hokies to a pair of clean sheets, Ash also contributed to the offense with her first collegiate assist against Miami. Despite registering a 5-8 record overall, the Hokies posted a 5-3 mark with Ash on the pitch. The sophomore will be eligible to compete for Ole Miss during the fall 2021 season.
SOCCER INKS EIGHT TO CLASS OF 2021
The Rebel coaching staff scoured the entirety of the south to bring in some of the nation's top talent, plucking the seven soon-to-be rookies from six different states. Adding to an Ole Miss roster that features standout performers from all around the country, Mott and his staff dipped into the talent pool in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee to continue to build the roster's depth.
Mott signed defender Kaitlin Maynard, a pair of midfielders in Ellie McIntyre and Lauren Montgomery and a trio of forwards, Amber Fortenberry, Maddie Bishop and Whitaker Buchanan. He also went out and added Canadian goalkeeper Alyssa Zalac to the signing class in late January.
Rounding out the 2021 class is Shea O'Malley from Cary, North Carolina. The defender was ranked as the No. 25 recruit in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer and was called up to the United States U17 Women's National Team. O'Malley graduated high school early and is on campus training with the Rebels. She isn't eligible to play during the spring season but will be on the pitch in the fall.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
A trio of freshmen made an immediate impact on the pitch for the Rebels in the fall. Defenders Lucy Green and Price Loposer were thrown into the mix along with forward Ramsey Davis. The freshmen trio appeared in a combined 24 matches and logged 1,546 minutes. Green saw action in all nine games, starting seven of them. The Meridian, Mississippi, native also helped set up the game-tying goal in the 2-1 victory at No. 13 Vanderbilt. Loposer is another Mississippi product who came up big for the Rebels, starting the final five contests. Davis rounds out the group of star-studded freshmen. She played in all nine matches in the fall, earning five starts. Davis also scored her first collegiate goal at No. 13 Vanderbilt, tying the match in the 86th minute.
GAS IN THE TANK
Over her first three seasons as a Rebel, junior Haleigh Stackpole has proven to have deep reserves when it comes to energy. The Fort Bragg, North Carolina, native has been a fixture in the Ole Miss lineup ever since stepping foot on campus, starting all 51 matches of her collegiate career. Even more impressive, the box-to-box midfielder has hardly ever come off the field despite easily pacing the Rebels in distance ran every match, typically 9-10 miles. After ranking second on the team as a freshman at just over 84 minutes per match, Stackpole was subbed for just three total minutes in 2019, logging 1,899 minutes over 20 matches, and was on the pitch for the entirety of every game during the shortened fall season.
SHOW-STOPPING SHOT STOPPER
In November, Ole Miss junior Ashley Orkus was named the SEC Goalkeeper of the Year, receiving all 13 possible votes for a unanimous selection. Additionally, the Vestavia Hills, Alabama, native was bestowed with First Team All-SEC honors, the first all-conference nod of her career. She becomes just the second Rebel keeper to ever be named all-conference and the first First Team All-SEC honoree to play between the posts at Ole Miss. Orkus finished the fall regular season ranked second in the SEC in saves with 49 and save percentage at .817. In addition to her outstanding play on the defensive side, the Rebel keeper also contributed to the offense with three assists, tied for fourth most in the league and 18th in the nation.
FOUR-PEAT'S SAKE
For the fourth time in her career, Channing Foster has been bestowed with All-SEC honors, earning first team all-conference recognition for the second-consecutive season. Foster becomes just the second player in program-history to receive all-league laurels for a fourth time, joining Rebel great Danielle Johnson. Foster, the SEC's active leading goal scorer, ranked tied for sixth in the league during the regular season with three goals. The Murray, Kentucky, native saved her scoring for big moments, with all three of her goals going down as game-winners. The prolific senior's 33 career goals are the sixth most in school-history, putting Foster 15 goals behind two-time All-American CeCe Kizer's program-record.
DUAL THREAT
Following a standout performance in Ole Miss' 2-1 overtime win at No. 13 Vanderbilt, Rebel goalkeeper Ashley Orkus was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week. Orkus tied her season high with nine saves against the Commodores, one short of her career high of set in 2019. The junior also played a hand in the winning goal in overtime, earning an assist on Channing Foster's match-winner. For her efforts, Foster also earned a spot in the honorable mention section.
COMEBACK KIDS
During the fall regular season, the Ole Miss Rebels have shown a penchant for late-match dramatics, scoring twice from the 84th minute and beyond in each of the last two matches of the regular season to erase deficits and turn sure defeat into a thrilling victory. Ole Miss came storming back from a 2-0 hole against No. 14 Georgia in Oxford, eventually overcoming a 3-2 deficit behind an 84th minute half-volleyed goal from Madisyn Pezzino and a sumptuous free kick from just outside the 18 from Channing Foster with just 20 ticks remaining on the clock. One week later, the Rebs were back up to their old tricks at No. 13 Vanderbilt. Facing a 1-0 Commodore lead, the Rebs turned the match on its head as freshman Ramsey Davis bagged her first career goal in the 86th minute to deadlock the score and force overtime. Less than three minutes in, Foster redirected a free kick and found the corner for the golden goal winner.
SUPER SUB
Needing just 36 minutes to provide an impact in Ole Miss' 4-3 victory over No. 14 Georgia, senior forward Madisyn Pezzino was recognized for her two-goal performance against the Bulldogs, being named the SEC's Offensive Player of the Week. Pezzino twice provided heroics to bring the Rebs back from behind in the match, scoring once in each half to bring the score level. The New York natives first score came in the 36th minute, helping Ole Miss enter halftime level after falling behind 2-0 early. Then, not more than a minute after hitting the crossbar, Pezzino buried a chance in the 84th minute to deadlock the score at 3-3, setting up for Ole Miss' dramatic late-game winner. Pezzino is the first Rebel to receive a weekly award from the SEC since Ashley Orkus was named the Defensive Player of the Week in 2019. Pezzino was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Honorable Mention Team of the Week.
HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Prior to October 31, no goalkeeper in the history of the Southeastern Conference had ever posted two assists in a single match. That changed during Ole Miss' 4-3 win over Georgia, with Ashley Orkus crossing the midfield stripe twice to serve in free kicks, both times combining with Molly Martin to result directly in Rebel goals. Orkus wasn't done there, the following week at Vanderbilt, Orkus again delivered a crucial assist from a free kick, teaming up with Martin once again to setup Channing Foster's golden goal in overtime. The three assists are good for a tie, along with Martin, for fourth most in the SEC and 18th in the nation.
WE OVER ME
Every year, the members of the Ole Miss soccer senior class come together to create a motto for that season's team. This year, the Rebels are rallying behind the "We Over Me" mindset, the idea that no single person is bigger than the team and that the entire group of 25 must work together in order to accomplish the team's goals. A specially designed "We Over Me" logo has been created and features in various areas such as warm up gear and the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium videoboard.
STRONGER TOGETHER
In early September, Ole Miss and 12 other institutions throughout the state of Mississippi announced the launching of the "Stronger Together" initiative to unite the state's athletics programs and communities in support of togetherness, diversity and equality.
During the 2020-21 academic year, college and university athletics programs in Mississippi will incorporate a special logo on their uniforms, equipment, warm-up gear or bags. The logo will serve as a visual representation of the state's schools coming together and will feature school-specific branding with the words "Stronger Together" inside the outline of Mississippi.
The campaign was created for the state's colleges and universities to come together, listen, learn and support student-athletes through their challenges, stresses and pressures related to events around the country. As part of the initiative, the schools will unite in their efforts to promote social justice and racial equality through advocacy, awareness and education.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
With three more goals during the shortened 2020 fall season, Channing Foster continued her ascent into the Rebel record books. After cracking the top-10 on Ole Miss' all-time scoring list in 2019, Foster moved into sixth place with 33 career goals, passing Rebel legends Jennifer Soileau, Regan Scanlon and Addie Forbus. With nine games this spring and the opportunity to return for a fifth season next fall, Foster is 15 goals behind former teammate CeCe Kizer as the most prolific Rebel in history.
KIZER CAPTURES NWSL CHALLENGE CUP
In her second professional season, Ole Miss alum CeCe Kizer helped the Houston Dash collect some hardware this summer as the Houston Dash claimed the NWSL Challenge Cup. Kizer, the 13th overall selection in the 2019 NWSL Draft, played a pivotal role in the Dash' win over the Chicago Red Stars in the championship match, coming on early as a sub and playing the final 61 minutes of action. After the NWSL season and a loan spell with Norwegian Toppserien club Kolbotn IL, Kizer was selected by the upstart Racing Louisville FC in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft, joining the likes of USWNT standouts Tobin Heath and Christen Press.
FOLLOW THE REBS!
Fans can keep up with all the goings on around the Ole Miss soccer program by following the Rebels on the team's various social media platforms. You can find the Rebs on Twitter at @OleMissSoccer, on Instagram at @OfficialOleMissSoccer or on Facebook by search "Ole Miss Soccer".
