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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Middle Tennessee
No. 12 Soccer Faces First Road Test at Middle Tennessee
8/24/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Head to Murfreesboro for Thursday Night Tilt
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NO. 12 OLE MISS (2-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC) at MIDDLE TENNESSEE (0-1-0, 0-0-0 C-USA) Thursday, Aug. 25 • 6 p.m. CT • Murfreesboro, Tenn. Dean A. Hayes Soccer Stadium  |
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| WATCH ($) • LIVE STATS • OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) | ||||||||
QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss hits the road for the first time in 2022, taking on Middle Tennessee after sweeping a pair of matches on opening weekend.
• The Rebels and Blue Raiders battled in a high-scoring affair in Oxford last season, with Ole Miss coming out on top 4-2.
• After defeating Southeastern 5-0 Thursday, The Rebels picked up a huge ranked win over No. 22 Memphis in the annual derby between the two teams, defeating the Tigers 3-0 in Oxford.
• The three-goal margin of victory is the largest for Ole Miss against Memphis since a 3-0 win in Oxford in 2013.
• Following the pair of wins, the Rebels moved up six places from No. 18 to No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. It is tied for the highest ranking in program history, also reaching No. 12 in 2015. Ole Miss is the SEC's second-highest ranked team, behind No. 4 South Carolina.
• The Rebels are the only team in the SEC with a ranked win.
• Ole Miss' eight goals are tied for the ninth most in the nation. Those eight goals have come from eight different players.
• Five of the Rebels' eight goals have come off of set pieces.
• The Rebels have racked up nine assists in 2022, seventh most in the nation.
• Ashley Orkus is one of 24 goalkeepers across the country with a pair of shutouts this season. Orkus' 20 career clean sheets are the third most all-time at Ole Miss.
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
For 21 years, Aston Rhoden has been the leader of the Middle Tennessee program, leading the Blue Raiders to a pair of conference regular season championships and one conference tournament title. Rhoden is the program's all-time winningest coach with a record of 198-149-35, leading Middle Tennessee to its lone NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010.
The Blue Raiders enter Thursday's matchup with a 0-1-0 record, dropping their season opener to North Florida last Friday and having Sunday's match against Jacksonville canceled due to weather. Middle Tennessee finished the 2021 season with a 9-8-2 record, including 5-3-0 in C-USA play.
Middle Tennessee is looking to replace the production of C-USA all-time leading goal scorer Peyton DePriest, a four-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region honoree who finished her career with 58 career goals and 117 points. Leading returning goal scorer Kirstine Lykke will look to fill the void, bagging five goals in 2021.
Starting goalkeeper Hannah Suder is back between the posts, posting a 1.28 goals against average last season with a .769 save percentage. Suder surrendered one goal in the loss to North Florida.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss has dominated the all-time series with Middle Tennessee, winning seven of the eight previous matchups, with the lone defeat coming in Murfreesboro in 2008. The Rebels have won four straight matchups in the series, including a 4-2 victory over the Blue Raiders in Oxford a season ago.
LAST MEETING (8/26/21)
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss let a pair of leads slip but was undeterred, earning a 4-2 win over Middle Tennessee in the home opener at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
The Rebels wasted no time in jumping in front less than five minutes in off a set piece. Taylor Radecki rose tall to meet a Stackpole service, heading the ball back across the face of goal. Kemp was in the right place and reacted first, stabbing home the opener.
Ole Miss looked likely to bag the next goal as well but MTSU was able to equalize against the run of play in the 34th minute behind star Peyton DePriest.
Just when it looked like the two sides were set for a 1-1 halftime score, Foster pounced, grabbing hold of a Radecki throw in and smashing the ball into the upper 90. The advantage didn't last long, though, as DePriest scored just minutes into the second half to deadlock the score once again.
Relentless, Ole Miss pressed on. The Rebels continued to throw numbers forward and in the 63rd minute Foster struck back again. Gathering in a Ramsey Davis dish off, the senior put her defender on skates before striking the ball sweetly with her left and bulging the net.
Just over 10 minutes later, Stackpole put the cherry on top in style. Driving in from the left, Stella Downing delivered a wicked cross and Stackpole met it in stride, volleying home a stunning goal to cap the win.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
Ole Miss moved up six spots from No. 18 to No. 12 in the most recent edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. It is tied for the highest ranking in program history, also reaching No. 12 in 2015. The Rebels have been ranked inside the top-15 in three consecutive seasons, climbing to No. 14 in 2020 and No. 13 in 2021.
DERBY DUB
Ole Miss' 3-0 victory over nearby rival Memphis is the lone ranked win of the season by an SEC team, with the Tigers slotted at No. 22 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The three-goal margin of victory for the Rebels in the derby is the largest against the Tigers since a 3-0 win in Oxford in 2013.
RADECK-ULOUS
Taylor Radecki is tied with Charleston Southern's Bri Robinson for the national lead with four assists through the first two matches of the season. Three of those assists have come from corner kick deliveries, while one came off of a free kick service.
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.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Through the first week of the season, Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC with eight goals. It was been a total team effort to get to that point, with eight different players finding the back of the net. Of those eight players, five are in their first season of action for the Rebels.
PIECING THINGS TOGETHER
Of the 36 goals scored by Ole Miss during the 2021 season, 13 of them were scored as the result of a set piece. Of those 13 set piece goals, 10 were scored via either a corner kick or a long throw in. The trend has continued early on in the 2022 season as five of the Rebels' eight goals have come off of set pieces.
ROAD WARRIORS
Ole Miss is undefeated in its last six true road matches during non-conference play, holding a record of 5-0-1. The Rebels have not dropped a non-league match at an opponents' home field since 2019.
GETTING DUSTY IN HERE
While the first goal of any season is a special one, the Rebels' opening tally of the 2022 season on Thursday 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 14 career goals, eight 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. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) 277
3. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) 252
4. Melinda Smith (1998-2001) 232
GOALKEEPER WINS
1. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 42
2. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) - 40
3. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 34
4. Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 32
SHUTOUTS
1. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 22
Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 22
3. Marnie Merritt (2014-18) - 21
4. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 20
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 is 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.
