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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Arkansas State
Soccer Makes Way to Jonesboro for Date with Arkansas State
8/28/2021 | Soccer
Rebels and Red Wolves Set for 4 p.m. Matchup
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OLE MISS (1-0-1, 0-0-0) at ARKANSAS STATE (1-1-1, 0-0-0) Sunday, August 29 • 4 p.m. CT • Jonesboro, Ark. A-State Soccer Park  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • ARKANSAS STATE NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss is coming off of a commanding 4-2 win over Middle Tennessee Thursday night in its home opener in Oxford.
• Three different Rebels scored in the match, with Jenna Kemp, Channing Foster and Haleigh Stackpole opening their scoring accounts for the season.
• Channing Foster scored a brace, the fifth multi-goal game of the senior's career. Foster also registered her sixth game-winning goal in the last two seasons.
• Three freshmen made their collegiate debut in the match, with Whitaker Buchanan, Kaitlin Maynard and Shea O'Malley hitting the pitch for the first time.
• 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.
• 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 Foster, Molly Martin, Sydney Michalak, 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.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE
Brian Dooley is in his seventh season as the head coach at Arkansas State, having led the Red Wolves to back-to-back double digit win seasons, garnering Sun Belt Coach of the Year plaudits a season ago. Dooley took over an ASU program that had just two winning seasons to its name and has led the Red Wolves to eight or more wins in each of the last four seasons.
Arkansas State enters Sunday's affair with a 1-1-1 record. The Red Wolves started off the campaign with a bang, earning a 1-1 road draw at Washington State before beating Eastern Washington 1-0. However, ASU recently slipped in a 1-0 defeat to Missouri State on Thursday.
The Red Wolves boast both the Sun Belt Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in Sarah Sodoma and Megan McClure. Sodoma is Arkansas State's all-time leader in several offensive categories, including goals and points, and netted the game-winner in the win over Eastern Washington. Sodoma was joined on the SBC Preseason Team by freshman Hailty Cloud.
Entering her third season as ASU's primary keeper, McClure has made 50 starts between the posts in a Red Wolf kit. The fifth-year senior has allowed two goals this season and made 16 saves. McClure was named the TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week after making 9 saves in the 1-1 draw at Washington State.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss and Arkansas State have met up just once previously, squaring off in Oxford last spring. The Rebels came out on top of that battle, defeating the Red Wolves 1-0 behind Mo O'Connor's goal.
LAST MEETING
OXFORD, Miss. - Mo O'Connor's second-half goal lifted Ole Miss soccer to a 1-0 victory over Arkansas State Friday evening at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
Ole Miss came out of the gate hot, putting pressure on Arkansas State early. Saydie Holland and Molly Martin had a few good looks early, but the Red Wolves keeper, Megan McClure, was there to make some key saves. Still, the Rebels controlled the flow of the game in the first half, hanging up 13 shots.
Defensively, the Rebels were brilliant, holding Arkansas State to only one shot in the first half of play and dominating possession. Price Loposer eliminated the only real threat offensively in the 31st minute as she chased down one of the Red Wolves' attackers on a breakaway and made a clutch tackle inside the box. The Rebels had a few more chances to strike in the first half, but both teams went into the locker room scoreless.
Just over 12 minutes into the second half, Haleigh Stackpole connected her pass to Channing Foster at the top of the box. She immediately turned and slipped a through ball to a streaking O'Connor, who powered it past the keeper, giving Ole Miss a 1-0 advantage.
The Rebels would look to double their lead late as Foster, Martin and O'Connor kept their foot on the gas, but the final margin would stay at one. Arkansas State tried to counter with some pressure of their own, but Ashley Orkus and the stingy Rebel backline thwarted each attack. Orkus only needed to make two saves to get the clean sheet victory.
BLUE RAIDER ROUT
Ole Miss lit up the scoreboard in its home opener against Middle Tennessee, taking down Middle Tennessee 4-2 at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. After Jenna Kemp gave the Rebels the lead less than five minutes in, Channing Foster recaptured the lead for Ole Miss just before half time. Foster made it a brace to give Ole Miss the lead again in the second half, and Haleigh Stackpole added the final tally with a sumptuous volley to cap off the 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.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Channing Foster was up to her old tricks in Ole Miss' home opener against Middle Tennessee, scoring a brace for the fifth multi-goal game of her career. The two goals brought the senior's career tally to 37, tied with Mandy McCalla for the eighth most in program-history, 11 behind all-time leader CeCe Kizer.
FINISHING THE JOB
After taking the lead in a match, Ole Miss has shown the ability to seal the deal. The Rebels have won each of its last 13 matches after taking the lead at any point. The last time Ole Miss surrendered a lead and failed to recapture it came in 2019, allowing a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Alabama.
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 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 37 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 Goins 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.
