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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Southern Miss
No. 9 Soccer Finish Non-Conference Play Against Southern Miss
9/10/2022 | Soccer
Rebels and Golden Eagles Set to Play at 2 p.m. on Sunday
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NO. 9 OLE MISS (6-0-1, 0-0-0 SEC) vs. Southern Miss (0-4-0, 0-0-0 SBC) Sunday, Sept. 11 • 2 p.m. CT • Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SOUTHERN MISS (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss still without a loss on the season after a 2-1 win over WKU.
• The Rebels finish non-conference play at home against Southern Miss on Sunday\
• Ole Miss converted on its first penalty kick for the game-winning goal against Western Kentucky. Price Loposer's goal was the first of her career
• The Rebels are undefeated against Southern Miss with a 10-0 record. Last played each other in 2017
• Taylor Radecki grabbed another assist in win over UCF, giving her seven on the season. Radecki matches her season total in assists from last season in six games.
• The Rebels 6-0-1 record (.929) is their best seven game start to a season since 2017. That year Ole Miss also went 6-0-1 in the first seven games and were 7-0-1 before suffering its first lose.
• Senior Ashley Orkus is one of 10 keepers with five clean sheets in 2022, tied second in the nation.
• Ole Miss is top-10 in total goals scored and total points. The Rebels are 7th with 21 goals and 6th in points with 65.
• Marykate McGuire ranks top-10 in total points with 14. McGuire leads the Rebels with five goals along with four assists.
• The Rebels rank second behind only Colorado in total assists with 23 and fourth in the nation averaging 3.29 assists per game.
• Ole Miss is ranked 9th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll which marks the highest in program history. The team also moved up five spots to 14th on TopDrawerSoccer.com
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS
Mohammed El-Zare is currently in his ninth season of the Southern Miss women's soccer program. El-Zare currently holds a 68-74-21 career record, all with the Golden Eagles. El-Zare led the squad to a 7-3-1 record and to the C-USA Tournament semifinals in a shorten spring 2021 campaign.
The Golden Eagles have fallen on hard times early in 2022 with an 0-4 record. However, Southern Miss have played some stiff competition, facing all SEC opponents in Auburn, Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State. Southern Miss' game against Mississippi Valley was canceled.
In four games, the Golden Eagles amnaged to score one goal against LSU last week. Midfielder Ilana Izquierdo is the lone goal scorer on the team. Izquierdo has taken two shots, including one on goal, and missed the game against Auburn. Freshman midfielfder, Bernadett Stefan assisted Izquierdo on her goal and also taken two shots.
Three different keepers have started for the Golden Eagles. Freshman Lena Blake earned the opening day start, grabbing two saves. Sophomore keeper Kesaia Bruni started and played the entire 90 minutes in the loss to Alabama. Bruni gave up two goals and made 10 saves. Alex Helbling, junior keeper, started the last two matches and played all 180 minutes. Helbling let in five goals and saved 14 shots on goal.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss has yet to lose a game against Southern Miss in 10 games played (10-0-0). The Rebels last played the Golden Eagles during the 2017 in a 8-0 win at home. In the all-time series, Ole Miss have outscored Southern Miss, 37-3.
PREVIOUS GAME (9/3/17)
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss continued to flex its offensive prowess with an 8-0 win over in-state rival Southern Miss Sunday night, which included the third hat trick of the season.
It's the third time the Rebels (5-0-1) have scored eight goals in a game and the second time freshman Channing Foster has found the back of the net three times in a contest.
The scoring again started early on with a goal at the 4:01 mark, when junior CeCe Kizer had the keeper beat on the far side of the box, before the keeper made contact for a red card. Kizer's penalty kick was good, putting the Rebels in front 1-0. From there, the Golden Eagles (4-1) played the rest of the match with only 10 players, giving Ole Miss an even bigger opportunity to score.
The 15th minute brought the second goal of the night when Grace Waugh sent a beautiful cross into the box, which Julia Phillips was perfectly aligned for and headed it into the back right corner. Four minutes later, Foster flicked it into an empty net for a 3-0 lead.
Her second goal would come at the 49:42 mark when she buried a shot with space directly in front of the net off a Kizer assist, her second of the night. Just six minutes later, senior captain Bella Fiorenzo converted a penalty kick after a Golden Eagle foul in the box, pushing the advantage to 5-0.
Foster finished off the hat trick in the 60th minute when she hit the left post, and the deflection snuck through for the score. Freshman Molly Martin was credited with the assist, her first of the year.
Sophomore Alley Houghton collected her second goal of the season in the 79th minute when she completely beat a Golden Eagle defender in the corner, then had her way with the backup keeper for a punch into the left corner. Then, with less than a minute to go, junior Marisa Kutchma buried a cross from Mary Kate Smith to cap the scoring at 8-0.
Ole Miss' offense accounted for 33 shot attempts, including 13 on goal. Defensively, the Rebel goalkeepers faced just four Southern Miss shots, with starter Marnie Merritt and Claire Williams making a save each.
MAKING HISTORY
In the last United Soccer Coaches Poll, the Rebels climbed up four spots into to the top-10. Ole Miss' No. 9 ranking secures the highest ranking in program history. The new ranking follows a pair of Ole Miss wins over LA Tech and a UCF team who are receiving votes. The team is also ranked 14th on TopDrawerSoccer.com and 10th on CollegeSoccerNews.com.
Ole Miss is having one of the program's best six-game starts with a 5-0-1 (.917). It's the best since 2017 and topped by a 6-0-0 record in 2002 and 2003.
FINISHING NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Ole Miss' host their final non-conference match on Sunday against Southern Miss. The Rebels are 4-0 in Oxford with wins over Southestern, Memphis, LA Tech and Western Kentucky
The team starts conference games on the road against Kentucky.
THAT'S A FIRST
In the Rebels' 5-0 victory over LA Tech, Lucy Green and Alex Schoenstadt netted their first goals of their career. Green, the junior defender, found the ball through a crowd in the opponents' eighteen and found the bottom right corner of the net just past the keeper.
Schoenstadt went beyond her first goal but scored her first two career goals for her first brace for the freshman. Both her goals were in the final five minutes of the match. The first was a strike off a bouncing crosser from Amber Fortenberry and the second was a header inside the box.
Price Loposer joined the first timers in Thursday's 2-1 win over Western Kentucky. Loposer, chosen to take the penalty kick, successfully nailed the right of the net. The goal was also her first career game-winning goal.
GIVE ME A HAND
Ole Miss' 44 assists in 2021 were the program's fourth most in a season. The Rebels continue the trend this season with 23 assists in just six games. The Rebels' 23 assists are the second most of any school in the nation only behind Colorado's 24 and on pace to break the most ever by an Ole Miss team in a season.
ALL 90 MINUTES
In the biggest games, Taylor Radecki and Price Loposer are leaned on heavily. Both Radecki and Loposer played all 90 minutes in the wins over No. 22 Memphis and UCF who are receiving votes. Loposer missed just six minutes all of last season and Radecki missed 25 minutes.
Ashley Orkus plays every second of every game. No other keeper has played a single second since 2018. Another Rebels defender, Sydney Michalak played 90 minutes the last games.
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 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.) 270
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.) - 37
4. Brittany Gillespie (2000-03) - 32
SHUTOUTS
1. Ashley Orkus (2018-pres.) - 23
Kelly McCormick (2011-2014) - 22
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 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.
