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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tuesday, November 1
Pensacola, Fla.
12:00 PM
Ole Miss
vs
South Carolina
Photo by: Kiana Dale
Soccer Set to Face No. 14 South Carolina In Quarterfinals of SEC Tournament
10/31/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Will Face-off Against SEC East Division Champs for First Time in 2022
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OLE MISS (9-6-4, 3-6-1 SEC) vs. #14 SOUTH CAROLINA (11-3-4, 6-3-1 SEC) Tuesday, Nov. 1 • 12:00 p.m. CT • Pensacola, Fla. Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • TOURNAMENT CENTRAL • BRACKET |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Sunday afternoon with a first-round victory over LSU. The match was scoreless through regulation and two overtime periods, sending the teams to a penalty kick shootout. The Rebels won the shootout 3-0 behind makes from Kayla Chatman-Haggerty, Aubrey Mister, and Price Loposer.
• This is the third time in the last four SEC Tournaments that Ole Miss has won their opening match, having defeated Alabama in the quarterfinals in 2021 and Mississippi State in the first round in 2019. It also gives the Rebels back-to-back shutouts in their opening matches at "The Beach", shutting out Alabama 1-0 in 2021 and LSU on Sunday.
• Sunday's scoreless draw gave Ashley Orkus her 10th shutout of the season, tying her for second-most in the SEC and ninth in the country. 10 shutouts are a new career-high for the senior and she is now just one shutout shy of having 30 for her career.
• Ole Miss has now prevailed in each of their last three matches that have been decided on penalty kicks. The other two wins came in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Soccer Tournament that took place in the spring of 2021. Their last loss in PK's came in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2015 NCAA Soccer Tournament to Texas A&M.
• This is Ole Miss' eighth-consecutive appearance at "The Beach", having last missed the tournament in 2014. They are tied with Vanderbilt for the second-longest active streak of SEC Tournament appearances. South Carolina is the active leader with 17-consecutive appearances. The Rebels' 23 total appearances have them in a four-way tie for third-most all-time.
• Senior Sydney Michalak played in her 100th career game as a Rebel on Sunday. She is now tied with five-time All-SEC forward Channing Foster (2017-2021) for the second-most games played and is one game shy of the record set by Molly Martin last season (101, 2017-2021).
• Taylor Radecki dished out her team-leading ninth assist last Thursday against LSU. Her nine assists are a new career-high and has her tied for 13th in the nation and third in the SEC. Radecki's 0.50 assists per game is tied for the 23rd best mark in the nation.
• Ashley Orkus became the Ole Miss all-time saves leader on October 9 against Texas A&M with her 298th save. In that same game she also became the first Rebel goalkeeper to reach the 300 career saves mark. Orkus also became the all-time shutouts leader on September 1 against Louisiana Tech with her 23rd clean sheet.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
No. 14 South Carolina clinched the SEC East Division Championship in their final match of the regular season on Thursday, defeating Missouri 2-0. The win tied them at the top of the East with No. 21 Tennessee, but a 6-1 victory over the Volunteers in the previous week gave them the tiebreaker.
The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a record of 11-3-4, going 6-3-1 in SEC play. They opened their season with a scoreless draw against Florida State, who was the No. 1 team in the nation at the time. South Carolina was ranked as high as No. 4 this season after starting 2022 with a record of 5-0-3.
Four Gamecocks were named to the All-SEC teams on Sunday, with junior Cat Barry and senior Jyllissa Harris being named First Team All-SEC selections and freshmen Shae O'Rourke and Gracie Falla earning spots on the All-Freshman team.
Head coach Shelley Smith is the third-longest tenured head coach in the SEC in her 22nd season.
SERIES HISTORY
South Carolina has dominated the all-time series against Ole Miss, going 12-6-3. However, the Rebels pulled out the win in their last meeting on October 7, 2021 in Oxford. The two teams have only played three times since 2016 with Ole Miss going 1-2 in that stretch. Head coach Matt Mott is 3-6-1 in his career against the Gamecocks.
PREVIOUS MATCH (10/7/21)
The last meeting between Ole Miss and South Carolina saw an unranked Rebel team take down the No. 19-ranked team in the nation in Oxford.
It took Ole Miss less than two minutes of game action to jump out in front. After Haleigh Stackpole's service from the wing was knocked down in the box, it was the O'Connor show. The Oxford product cut across the ball first time, sending a magisterial strike into the back of the net from 16 yards out.
South Carolina continued the attack heading out of the locker room, with the Rebel back line keeping its shape to clean up any chances around the attacking area. However, Catherine Barry was able to break through in the 59th minute, tucking a shot just inside the near post from the top of the box to level the score at a goal apiece.
The Rebels responded immediately, bouncing back in the 62nd minute off of a set piece as Channing Foster's header off of Ashley Orkus' free kick was collected and cleaned up by Ramsey Davis, who slotted her shot across the face of goal and inside the bottom corner.
BEST TO EVER DO IT
For an unprecedented third-consecutive season, Ole Miss goalkeeper Ashley Orkus was named the SEC Goalkeeper of the Year, the league announced Sunday morning. Orkus became the first goalkeeper in the history of the conference to win the award three times in her career. The senior also earned First Team All-SEC honors for the third-consecutive season.
This season, Orkus set career-bests in shutouts, goals against average, and goals allowed. The senior from Alabama has allowed just 16 goals on the season, giving her a GAA of 0.89 through 18 matches. She posted nine clean sheets, including a streak of five-straight to open the season and three in SEC play. Her 63 saves are second-best in the SEC and her nine shutouts are third-most in the conference.
Orkus also scored the lone goal of her career this season in a 2-1 win over Kentucky. With less than two minutes off the clock, she took at free kick at midfield and sent it all the way into the back of the Wildcats' net.
LEADER OF THE ATTACK
Forward Mo O'Connor earned recognition from the coaches around the conference Sunday as well, earning Second Team All-SEC honors. This is the second career honor for the Oxford native as she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2019. O'Connor was also named to the SEC Community Service Team earlier this week for her efforts in her hometown community.
O'Connor has put together another great season at the front of the Rebel attack in 2022. She has scored six goals, one shy of her career-high, and put up four assists, tying her career-high. The senior also has three game-winning goals this season, securing victories in wins over Louisiana Tech, UCF, and Florida.
O'Connor's biggest offensive outing came in the season-opener against Southeastern Louisiana as she assisted on two goals before scoring one of her own in the 58th minute. Her four points in that match were a career-high and the second-largest total by a Rebel in a game this season. Arguably her biggest goal of the season so far came against Florida, as she scored the lone goal of the match in the 52nd minute to lock down a second-consecutive SEC victory for Ole Miss.
BREAKING RECORDS
Ole Miss and goalkeeper Ashley Orkus have set multiple program records this season. Ole Miss' 9-0-2 start to the season was the best start through 11 games by win percentage in school history. Their 3-0 start in SEC play was their best start in-conference in program history.
Orkus became the Ole Miss all-time saves leader on October 9 against Texas A&M with her 298th save. In that same game she also became the first Rebel goalkeeper to reach the 300 career saves mark and has 317 saves to date. She also became the all-time shutouts leader on September 1 against Louisiana Tech with her 23rd clean sheet and currently sits at 29 for her career.
Orkus' next milestone will be the all-time goalkeeper wins mark as she currently sits second all-time with 41 wins and needs two more to take over the top spot.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Ole Miss women's soccer is one win away from their fifth-straight season with double-digit wins. It would mark the ninth season with 10-plus wins over their last 11 seasons, missing it by one win in 2016.
POWERFUL PAIR
Ole Miss forwards Mo O'Connor and Marykate McGuire have been tough for opposing defenses to stop this season. McGuire leads the team with seven goals and O'Connor has six.
It's the second consecutive year and 12th in the last 14 seasons that the Rebels have had two players with six or more goals.
SHOOT AROUND
The Rebels are 7-2-2 when taking more shots than their opponent and 4-1-1 with more shots on goal.
STARTING OFF RIGHT
Out of the Rebels' 28 goals this season, 10 goals have been scored in the first 20 minutes of the match. Ole Miss' quickest goal of the season came off the foot of keeper Ashley Orkus. She scored the first goal of a 2-1 win over Kentucky with just 1:25 off the clock.
TRANSFER SUCCESS
The Rebels signed six transfers during the offseason, which is the second most in the SEC. Four have become starters for Ole Miss, which is second-most in the SEC and tied for fourth in the nation. Marykate McGuire leads the way with seven goals along with four assists.
SYD VICIOUS
Picking a ball off near midfield, 6th-year senior defender Sydney Michalak made a dazzling run before firing into the back of the net for Ole Miss' second goal against Memphis. It was Michalak's first goal since her collegiate debut in 2018, still playing as a forward at that time. The Rebel left back also helped Ole Miss lock up a pair of clean sheets during the week. For her efforts, Michalak was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.
GETTING DUSTY IN HERE
While the first goal of any season is a special one, the Rebels' opening tally of the 2022 season came with a little extra meaning. Fourteen minutes into the match, redshirt-freshman Lauren Montgomery cleaned up a Mo O'Connor rebound and slid the ball under the keeper for her first collegiate goal, coming just over a year after tearing her ACL during the 2021 preseason and missing her true freshman campaign.
IT JUST MEANS MO'
When the lights shine brightest, Rebel striker Mo O'Connor steps her game up to another level. Of O'Connor's 19 career goals, 10 have come against conference opposition, including five of seven goals in 2021. O'Connor's five goals in league play last season were tied for the most in the conference.
BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK
In his 13th season at the helm of the Ole Miss program, Matt Mott is the fourth-longest tenured head coach in the SEC. Mott is also the third-longest tenured head coach active at Ole Miss.
SEC's Longest Tenured Head Coaches
1. G Guerreiri (Texas A&M) - 29 seasons
2. Karen Hoppa (Auburn) - 24 seasons
3. Shelley Smith (South Carolina) - 22 seasons
4. Matt Mott (Ole Miss) - 13 seasons
5. Colby Hale (Arkansas) - 11 seasons
BIG SHOES TO FILL
With the departure of star players like Channing Foster, Haleigh Stackpole and Molly Martin, Ole Miss will have plenty of firepower to replace in 2022. Foster finished her career with 44 goals, tied for the second most in program history, while Stackpole's 31 career assists rank third all-time at Ole Miss, including 16 assists in 2021 alone. Meanwhile, Martin and her aerial threat led the Rebels with 10 goals a season ago. Overall, Ole Miss will need to replace 25-of-36 goals (69.4%), 23-of-44 assists (52.3%) and 73-of-116 points (62.9%) from the 2021 season.
DANCING QUEENS
Ole Miss is one of five SEC teams to receive a bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament in at least five of the last seven seasons (Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina, Texas A&M). They are also one of five SEC teams to make four of the last five NCAA Tournaments.
POLL POSITION
For the second consecutive year, Ole Miss was ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, coming in at No. 18. The Rebels were slotted at No. 23 in the 2021 preseason poll. Prior to last season, Ole Miss had never been ranked in the preseason by the United Soccer Coaches. The Rebels are one of four SEC teams ranked in the 2022 iteration of the poll, joining Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina.
FOLLOW THE REBS
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.
HIGHLIGHTS: Soccer vs. Kentucky (10/10/25)
Friday, October 10
Walk-and-Talk with Ole Miss Soccer: Sidney O'Billovich
Friday, October 10
Walk-and-Talk with Ole Miss Soccer: Briana Rodriguez
Friday, October 10
Walk-and-Talk with Ole Miss Soccer: Katie Ramsden
Friday, October 10