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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Alabama
Top-25 Matchup on Tap Thursday in Tuscaloosa
10/5/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Face No. 4 Alabama on the Road
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NO. 20 OLE MISS (9-1-2, 3-1-0 SEC) vs. No. 4 Alabama (11-1-1, 4-0-0 SEC) Thursday, Oct. 6 • 7 p.m. CT • Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama Soccer Complex  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss fall for the first time this season in a 1-0 loss to Tennessee on Friday night.
• The Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa to play No. 4 Alabama on Thursday and then come back home on Sunday to host Texas A&M.
• The Rebels are 1-0 against ranked opponents, defeating No. 22 Memphis 3-0 in August.
• Ole Miss leads the all-time series against Alabama with a 20-8-1 record. The Rebels have won the last three matches over the Crimson Tide, including a 1-0 win in the SEC Tournament last season.
• Ole Miss are just 3-7-2 when facing Texas A&M, However, the Rebels secured a 2-0 victory last season on the road.
• Taylor Radecki's eight assists set a career season high and has her top-5 in the nation. Radecki's 0.67 assists per game is top-15 in the nation.
• Senior Ashley Orkus' eight shutouts are second most in the SEC and fourth in the nation behind Idaho's Kira Witte.
• Orkus holds second place on Ole Miss' all-time saves and wins list with 289 saves and keeper wins with 41. She needs nine more saves and two more wins to take the record.
• Ole Miss ranks second in the nation in goals against average of 0.333 and top-5 in save percentage.
• Ole Miss ranked 20th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Rebels are ranked 16th on TopDrawerSoccer.com.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Wes Hart is off to a hot start in his eight year coaching the Alabama women's soccer program. Hart is coming off a year in which Alabama recorded its first-ever NCAA Tournament win and set a single season record for most home wins with 10. Hart is 73-62-15 overall in his eight year career at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide has continued their home success this season along with winning on the road. Alabama women's soccer are 11-1-1 and first in the SEC with a 4-0 record. The team is ranked fourth in the nation and has yet to lose a game at home, including wins over No. 18 Clemson and No. 5 South Carolina. Alabama is 3-0 against top-25 opponents with wins over the two team mentioned previously and No. 6 BYU on the road.
The Alabama offense is one of the best in the nation as it ranks top-10 in scoring offense, total goals, total assists, and shots per game. The offense is fourth in goals with 37 scored, leading the way with nine goals is Riley Mattingly Parker. Senior Reyna Reyes scored five goals, forwards Gianna Paul and Ashlynn Serepca each have four goals. Midlfielder Felicia Knox is the main shot creator as she has tallied 12 assists to lead the nation along with three goals.
The defense rounds out a great team, allowing just eight goals. Defenders Sasha Pickard, Gessica, Skorka, and Reyes have started every game and each played over 1,000 minutes. Goalkeeper McKinley Crone is also a big reason for the Crimson Tide's success. Crone has started all 13 games and compiled 33 saves and a 0.67 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss is ahead of Alabama in the all-time series, holding a record of 20-8-1. The Rebels have a three-game win streak on the Crimson Tide, including a 1-0 victory in the SEC Tournament in 2021. The Rebels came away with a 2-0 win in 2020 the last time these two teams played each other in Tuscaloosa.
The two teams have never played each other when both ranked in the top-25.
PREVIOUS GAME (11/2/21)
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – For the first time in eight years, Ole Miss will play in the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament after beating Alabama, 1-0, Tuesday afternoon at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
Ole Miss rose victorious in a tightly contested battle, narrowly outshooting the Crimson Tide 14-12. The two sides were virtually deadlocked in every statistical category as Alabama bested the Rebs in corner kicks, 5-4.
The Rebels came out of the blocks hot to start the match, immediately jumping on the offensive. Less than 11 minutes in, Molly Martin broke the ice, heading home Haleigh Stackpole's corner delivery to the far post to give Ole Miss an early lead.
After a furious attack from Ole Miss through the first 20 odd minutes, the match began to even out. Both teams were able to create half chances but couldn't finish the deal as the Rebels hit the break up 1-0.
Much like the first half, Ole Miss started the second on the front foot. Channing Foster nearly made it a two goal lead in the 54th minute, having her shot from the center of the box saved by Alabama's McKinley Crone. Four minutes later, Stackpole's teasing free kick service narrowly missed Foster's head from close range.
Felicia Knox had a long range look to tie in the 81st minute but Ashley Orkus was able to dive and smother it and Ole Miss salted away the game from there, extending its stay in Orange Beach.
TAKING ON THE WEST
The Rebels' next three games are against teams in the SEC West, starting with No. 4 Alabama. Ole Miss plays Alabama Thursday, Texas A&M on Sunday, and Mississippi State the following Thursday.
The team currently has one win against a SEC West opponent, defeating Auburn on the road 1-0 on September 25.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Ole Miss women's soccer a win away from their fifth straight season with double-digit wins. It would mark the ninth season with 10-plus wins in the last 11 seasons, missing it by one win in 2016.
The program has won at least 10 games in 16 seasons.
RANKED UP
The Rebels are currently ranked 20th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Ole Miss has been ranked in the top every week of the 2022 season, including a top-10 ranking in week three.
Ole Miss are not only ranked but are 1-0 against ranked opponents as they get set to play No. 4 Alabama. The Rebels defeated at the time No. 22 Memphis 3-0 in their second game of the season. In the last three seasons, Ole Miss is 5-5-2 against top-25 teams. The Rebels last defeated a top-5 opponent back in 2021 with a 2-0 victory over No. 5 LSU
BREAKING RECORDS
Ole Miss continues to break program records. Ole Miss' 9-0-2 record is the best start by win percentage in school history. Ashley Orkus also moved ahead of Marnie Merritt for second most goalkeeper wins at 41 and saves at 289.
The Rebels went 3-0 in SEC games for the first time in program history.
NO FLY ZONE
Opposing teams have managed four goals against Ole Miss' defense through 12 games due in large part to eight clean sheets. The programs fewest goals allowed in a season was 13 in 2005 when the team went 13-6-2. Just two years ago, Ole Miss allowed the third lowest goals with 18.
If the Rebels stay on this pace, they could break the 13 goals allowed in a season mark.
TRANSFER SUCCESS
The Rebels signed six transfers during the offseason, which is the second most in the SEC. Four start for Ole Miss, which is second-most in the SEC and tied fourth in the nation. Marykate McGuire leads the way with six 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 18 career goals, nine 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.
G.O.A.T.
Entering her fourth season between the posts for the Rebels, goalkeeper Ashley Orkus sits near the top in the Ole Miss record books in several statistical categories. Below is a breakdown of Orkus' approach of program-records:
GOALKEEPER SAVES
1. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 297
2. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 289
3. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) - 277
4. Melinda Smith (1998-2001) - 232
GOALKEEPER WINS
1. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 42
2. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 41
3. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) - 40
4. Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 32
SHUTOUTS
1. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 26
2. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 22
3. Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 22
4. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) - 21
5. Ann Shelton (2004-07) - 18
DANCING QUEENS
Ole Miss is one of five SEC teams to receive a bid at least five of the last seven seasons (Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina, Texas A&M) and 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.
BEST OF THE BEST
Ole Miss keeper Ashley Orkus was named to the 2022 TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI First Team. It is the second consecutive year that the two-time defending SEC Goalkeeper of the Year has been named to the first team. Orkus has also received postseason Best XI honors from TopDrawerSoccer the last two seasons, earning a first team nod in 2020 and landing on the third team in 2021.
Orkus was also selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for the third consecutive year. The senior was the only goalkeeper among the group of 15 players named a semifinalist for the 2021 edition of college soccer's top individual honor.
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.
