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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Middle Tennessee
Soccer to Make Delayed Home Debut Against MTSU
8/25/2021 | Soccer
Rebels and Blue Raiders to Square Off at 7 p.m. CT
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OLE MISS (0-0-1, 0-0-0) vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE (1-0-1, 0-0-0) Thursday, August 26 • 7 p.m. CT • Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • MIDDLE TENNESSEE NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss competes at home for the first time after last Thursday's original home opener was canceled due to rain.
• The Rebels are coming off of a 1-1 derby draw at Memphis, with Memphis native Molly Martin scoring the second half equalizer.
• Sunday's match was the first time Ole Miss has opened the season on the road in the last 13 years.
• It was the 10th goal of the senior's career, but just the second away from home.
• Ole Miss received 33 votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, the fourth-most among unranked teams.
• Rebel keeper Ashley Orkus was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI First Team, recognizing the senior as the nation's premier shot stopper.
• Senior Channing Foster also received some recognition ahead of the start of the campaign, being named a Third Team Preseason All-American by College Soccer News.
• Tying for the fifth most points in the league table last season, Ole Miss was picked to finish sixth in the 2021 SEC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Five Rebels were selected to the 2021 SEC Preseason Watchlist, with Channing Foster, Molly Martin, Sydney Michalak, Ashley Orkus and Haleigh Stackpole representing Ole Miss for the second straight season.
• With just four departures from last season's roster, Ole Miss returns every goal, assist and save from the 2020 campaign to the roster in 2021. Additionally, the Rebel lineup was infused with 11 total newcomers.
WELCOME BACK FANS!
After having its boisterous crowds reduced to a mere fraction of itself last season due to social distancing restrictions, Ole Miss is pleased to announce the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium has returned to 100% capacity for the 2021 campaign. Masks are encouraged for fans attending games, but not required. As in previous seasons, attendance at home soccer matches in Oxford is completely free of charge.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Middle Tennessee is in its 20th season under long-time head coach Aston Rhoden. During his run in Murfreesboro, Rhoden's Blue Raiders have amassed a 190-140-34 record, claiming the Sun Belt Tournament Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
Middle Tennessee is off to a 1-0-1 start to the 2021 season, opening the campaign with a 1-0 home victory over Belmont before drawing 1-1 against Samford in Murfreesboro on Sunday.
The Blue Raiders are led by senior forward Peyton DePriest, a preseason All-Conference USA selection who tied the C-USA scoring record with a penalty kick in Sunday's draw against Samford. It was the 47th goal of DePriest's career, bagging double-digit tallies in 3-of-4 seasons, including a career-high 18 in 2019. Junior forward Cambell Kivisto has scored MTSU's other goal this season, netting the winner against Belmont.
Junior Hannah Suder has started both of the Blue Raider's first two matches, surrendering one goal in 200 minutes. Suder also started all six matches for MTSU last season, posting a 1.35 GAA and a .636 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss has won six of the seven previous meetings with Middle Tennessee, including five wins in Oxford. A pair of three-match Rebel winning streaks bookend the only Blue Raider win in the series, a 1-0 victory in Murfreesboro in 2008. The two sides have not met since 2014, when Ole Miss won handily by a 4-1 scoreline.
LAST MEETING
OXFORD, Miss. - Four Rebels notched goals on the afternoon, including the first career goal from Georgia Russell, as Ole Miss defeated Middle Tennessee by a score of 4-0.
Ole Miss got on the board in the 18th minute when Gretchen Harknett dribbled down the field and sent the ball into the middle of the box to Addie Forbus. The sophomore forward then drilled the ball into the net and past the keeper to give the Rebels the early lead.
The two squads battled back and forth throughout the rest of the half before the Rebels' pressure finally yielded two more goals from Jennifer Miller and Russell in the final minute of the period to give Ole Miss the 3-0 lead at the half.
Neither team was able to break through for much of the second half until Coleman again came up with a breakaway down the far side of the field in the 81st minute. The sophomore forward got into the box when she was taken down from behind by the Middle Tennessee defender to set up the penalty kick for the Rebels.
Harknett stepped up to take the kick, driving the ball into the net for the fourth goal of the afternoon and the final margin of victory.
DERBY DRAW
Facing off against stiff competition to open the season, Ole Miss battled back from a 1-0 deficit to earn a quality result on the road at Memphis, picking up a 1-1 draw. Falling behind in the 29th minute and down a goal at halftime, the Rebels came out strong in the second half and leveled the score in the 55th minute, with Memphis native Molly Martin slotting home the tying goal. Despite a demanding lead in shots for the Tigers, the Rebel defense was able to hold Memphis to just a handful of quality looks, with Ashley Orkus making six saves on the night.
RUN IT BACK
Coming off of arguably the best season in program history, Ole Miss is reloaded for the 2021 season, bringing back virtually the entire roster from a season ago. In fact, the Rebels return every single goal, assist and save from last season's team, including a veteran core of 13 upperclassmen. Going back even further, 50 of the 58 goals scored over the last two seasons were scored by a player returning to the Rebel roster. Bolstering the stacked lineup with 11 additional newcomers, the Rebs will have plenty of weapons available to attack the new campaign.
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
After establishing herself with a solid first season in Red and Navy in 2019, Rebel goalkeeper Ashley Orkus grabbed the nation's attention in 2020 with one of the most decorated seasons in program history. The senior shot stopper has been recognized for her accomplishments with a selection to the TopDrawerSoccer Best XI First Team, garnering headlines as the premier goalkeeper in the country. This comes after making a Southeastern Conference high 85 saves with seven clean sheets a season ago, leading to a unanimous nod as the SEC Goalkeeper of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-America laurel, while also earning the Best XI First Team spot from TopDrawerSoccer to close out the season.
SWAN SONG
Coming back for one final college campaign in 2021, Channing Foster will look to accomplish something rarely possible, become a five-time All-SEC honoree. Ever since bursting onto the scene with 12 goals as a freshman in 2017, Foster has been lighting the scoreboard up for the Rebs, landing on the all-conference team every season, including back-to-back first team nods. The SEC's active leading scorer with 35 goals, the Murray, Kentucky, native is one of just two Rebels to earn all-league distinction four times in a career, joining all-time great Danielle Johnson. Despite her prolific career, Foster enters this season with the first preseason All-America recognition of her career, being selected to the Third Team by College Soccer News.
DYNAMIC DUO
For the second consecutive season, Channing Foster and Ashley Orkus have been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The trophy is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the nation's National Player of the Year as determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. Foster and Orkus are two of six SEC players recognized on the watch list, joining Arkansas's Parker Gions and Anna Podojil and Texas A&M's Barbara Olivieri and Karlina Sample. The Rebel duo are also both among the top-100 players in the nation as ranked by TopDrawerSoccer. Orkus is the highest ranked goalkeeper in the land at No. 16, the third-highest ranked player in the SEC and climbing all the way from No. 63 in TDS's 2020 preseason rankings. Meanwhile, Foster comes in at No. 57, moving up from her place at No. 69 in the final rankings of the 2020 season.
HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Prior to October 31, 2020 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. During conference play, the three assists were good for a tie, along with Martin, for fourth most in the SEC and 18th in the nation.
OLE MISS PICKED 6TH IN SEC PRESEASON POLL
Earlier in the week, The SEC announced the 2021 Preseason Coaches' Poll on Tuesday, with Ole Miss predicted to finish sixth in the league table as voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches.
Ole Miss moves up a couple of places over its prediction in the past two coaches' polls, having been selected eighth the last two seasons. The Rebels have finished higher in the league standings than the preseason prognostication in six of the last nine seasons.
KEEP AN EYE OUT
The Southeastern Conference also announced the 2021 Preseason Watch List on Tuesday, with Ole Miss being represented by Channing Foster, Molly Martin, Sydney Michalak, Ashley Orkus and Haleigh Stackpole, all of whom were also named to the 2020 edition of the watchlist.
Foster returns as the SEC's active leading scorer, while Martin provides an arial threat as well as serving as a key cog in the spine of the Rebel formation. One of the quickest players in the conference, Michalak helped Ole Miss lock down seven clean sheets at outside back, playing in front of the SEC's Goalkeeper of the Year in Orkus. Entering her fourth season, Stackpole is a true box-to-box player and arguably the Rebels' top playmaker, ranking third in the conference with eight assists and adding in four goals of her own.
DRAFT DAY DELIGHT
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, while still retaining her eligibility to suit up for the Rebels this season. 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.
ROOKIE REPORT
The Rebel coaching staff scoured the entirety of the south to bring in some of the nation's top talent for the 2021 roster, plucking seven 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 and defender Lily Logan in April.
Rounding out the 2021 class is Shea O'Malley from Cary, North Carolina. O'Malley 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 arrived on campus early to train with the Rebels during the spring.
HITTING THE PORTAL
In addition to the crop of nine freshmen added for the new season, Ole Miss also added depth to its veteran lineup with a pair of transfers in Sydney Ash of Virginia Tech and Stella Downing of Memphis.
Ash spent two seasons in Blacksburg before joining Ole Miss and training with the Rebels in the spring of 2021. In her time at Virginia Tech, the junior defender played in 13 matches with eight starts across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The Leesburg, Virginia, native made seven starts for VT during the fall of 2020, helping the Hokies to a pair of clean sheets and recording her first career assist against Miami. Unfortunately, Ash will spend the 2021 season on the sideline after suffering a season-ending injury in preseason training.
The Rebels have also added a player they got to see up close in personal a season ago in Memphis' Stella Downing. A lightning quick attacker out of Vancouver, Canada, Downing played in all 12 matches for the Tigers last season, tallying a pair of assists. One of those helpers came against Ole Miss, setting up Memphis' lone goal in the 3-1 Rebel win. At the international level, Downing earned a bronze medal in the 2018 CONCACAF U17 Women's Championship, earning her first cap for Team Canada against the USA.
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 60 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 one of just three players to be on the pitch for every second last season.
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". Fans can also now follow Ole Miss on TikTok at @OleMissWSoccer.
