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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Samford
No. 12 Soccer Stays on the Road at Samford
8/27/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Look to Make it Four in a Row Sunday in Birmingham
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NO. 12 OLE MISS (3-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC) at SAMFORD (3-0-0, 0-0-0 SoCon) Sunday, Aug. 28 • 2 p.m. CT • Birmingham, Ala. Samford Soccer Stadium  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SAMFORD NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Coming off of a 4-0 victory at Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Ole Miss remains on the road for a Sunday night tilt at Samford.
• With just four meetings all-time between the two teams, Ole Miss and Samford will be meeting for the third time since February, 2021.
• The Bulldogs have three former Rebels on their roster in goalkeeper Morgan McAslan, forward Whitaker Buchanan and defender Kaitlin Maynard.
• The Rebels are one of 26 teams in the nation that have yet to concede a goal this season. The three consecutive shutouts are the most to begin a season for Ole Miss since 2011.
• Senior Ashley Orkus is one of five keepers with three clean sheets in 2022.
• At 4.00 goals per game, Ole Miss is the nation's sixth-highest scoring offense.
• Ole Miss' 15 assists are tied with Texas A&M for the most in the nation.
• Senior Marykate McGuire ranks eighth nationally with three goals this season, ranking fourth with nine total points.
• The Rebels are the only team in the SEC with a ranked win this season.
• Ole Miss is ranked 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, tied for the highest ranking in program history. Samford received 17 votes in the most recent poll.
SCOUTING SAMFORD
For more than two decades, Todd Yelton has led the Samford soccer program. In his 21st season in Birmingham, Yelton has racked up nearly 300 wins, captured 13 regular season conference championships and led the Bulldogs to six trips to the NCAA Tournament.
After capturing the SoCon title and earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2021, Samford is off to another strong start in 2022. The Bulldogs are a perfect 3-0-0 on the season, picking up wins over Jacksonville State, Rice and Murray State by a combined score of 7-1.
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by former Rebel Whitaker Buchanan, who scored a brace in Thursday's win over Murray State. Senior defender Kylie Gazza has also scored twice to tie Buchanan for the team lead. Senior forward Nikki Bario has dished out two of Samford's four assists.
Another Ole Miss transfer mans the net for the Bulldogs in Morgan McAslan. the fifth-year senior has become a Stalwart at keeper for Samford, collecting a pair of All-SoCon nods in her career. The native Canadian has allowed just one goal this season, making 14 saves.
SERIES HISTORY
A common opponent during the spring exhibition season for Ole Miss, the Rebels have played Samford during the regular season just three times. Two of those meetings came in 2021, with the Rebels earning a 1-0 win in Oxford in the spring of the split 2020-21 season and the two sides settling for a 1-1 draw in Oxford last season.
LAST MEETING (9/5/21)
OXFORD, Miss. - After 110 minutes on a steamy afternoon at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, Ole Miss and Samford played to a 1-1 draw.
After a couple of half chances in the early going for the Rebels, Ole Miss connected some lovely one-touch passing together to set up Stella Downing at the far post in the 37th minute. The Memphis transfer met the ball in stride but was unable to make clean contact, sending her shot wide.
Coming out of the half with some fury, Ole Miss broke through in the 48th minute, taking advantage of a corner kick situation. Haleigh Stackpole played short to Mo O'Connor, who fed the ball back to Stackpole. The Rebel captain clipped a cross high into the air and Channing Foster won the battle in the air, heading into the side netting to give Ole Miss the lead.
The Rebel lead lasted just under 15 minutes, with Samford equalizing off a corner of its own in the 62nd minute. Alyssa Frazier provided the delivery and Ella Simpson sent a bullet header inside the near post to level the score at a goal apiece.
Stackpole used some nifty footwork to create space for a shot inside the 18 in the 88th minute but Bulldog keeper Morgan McAslan made the save, sending the game into overtime. Foster had a look at goal at the start of the second overtime period but couldn't keep her attempt down as the Rebels settled for a draw.
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.
KEEPING IT CLEAN
Ole Miss' streak of three straight clean sheets to open the season is its longest since the 2011 season, head coach Matt Mott's second campaign in Oxford. That season, the Rebels held their opponents off the board in each of the first four matches of the season.
HERE TO HELP
Ole Miss leads the nation with 15 assists. The Rebels have three players ranked in the top-10 in the country is individual assists, with Taylor Radecki leading the way with a Division I best four assists. Meanwhile, Marykate McGuire and Mo O'Connor both rank fourth with three apiece.
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.
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.
T-MONEY IN THE BANK
After setting up four Ole Miss goals and helping the Rebels lock up a pair of shutouts during opening weekend, center back Taylor Radecki was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week. Radecki's four assists continue to be the most of any player in the nation.
ROAD WARRIORS
Ole Miss is undefeated in its last seven true road matches during non-conference play, holding a record of 6-0-1. 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 15 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.) 260
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.) - 35
4. Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 32
SHUTOUTS
1. Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 22
Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 22
3. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 21
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 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.
