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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Kentucky
No. 15 Soccer Begins SEC Slate
9/15/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Face Off against Kentucky in Lexington
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NO. 15 OLE MISS (6-0-2, 0-0-0 SEC) vs. Kentucky (7-1-0, 0-0-0 SEC) Friday, Sept. 16 • 4 p.m. CT • Lexington, KY. Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • KENTUCKY (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss go into SEC play with a undefeated, 6-0-2 record, after a 2-1 win over Western Kentucky and a tie against Southern Miss.
• The Rebels begin conference play on the road against Kentucky. The two teams last played back in 2018. Ole Miss has won the last two meetings.
• The Rebels lead the all-time series over Kentucky, 12-11-1.
• Ole Miss went 6-3-1 in SEC games in 2021 which was the best since its 2018 campaign.
• Taylor Radecki's seven assists still tied for the nation lead with four other players. Her 0.88 assists per game is fourth in the nation.
• Senior Ashley Orkus is one of 5 keepers with six clean sheets in 2022, tied first in the nation.
• Ole Miss ranks second in the nation in corner kicks per game, averaging 8.88 corners. The Rebels took a season high 17 corners against Southern Miss.
• Marykate McGuire ranks top-15 in total points with 14. McGuire leads the Rebels with five goals along with four assists.
• Ole Miss is ranked 15th in the both the United Soccer Coaches and on TopDrawerSoccer.com
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
After an impressive seven year stint with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a 101-16-13 record, Troy Fabiano became the head women's soccer coach in 2021. In Fabiano's first season the team is performing strong, going 7-1 in non-conference play.
The Wildcats are currently on a three-game win streak after their only loss of the season to Western Kentucky back on the first of September. The team is looking to improve in SEC play this season, only earning one win against Missouri in 2021. Ole Miss will be Kentucky's first ranked team of the year.
Kentucky's offense is ranked top-10 in both scoring offense at ninth and total goals at sixth. Its 26 goals lead the SEC. The Wildcats leading scorer from 2021, forward Jordy Rhodes, is off to a great start scoring five goals and two assists. Senior forward Hannah Richardson is the main goal creator this season with seven assists which is tied for most in the nation. Richardson has three goals to name as well. Twelve different players have at least one goal and six have multiple.
The defense is also on a roll, giving up just five goals in eight games, including four shutouts. Defenders Maggy Henschler, Mallory Glass and Dana Dahm are big reasons for the success. All three play significant minutes with each playing over 625 total minutes. Kentucky's starting keeper, Tallulah Mill, has compiled 17 saves and a 0.778 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss edges Kentucky in the all-time series with a 12-11-1 record. The two teams have not play each other since the 2018 season. It will be the third meeting in a row played in Lexington. In 2018, the Rebels won 2-0 on the road.
PREVIOUS GAME (9/3/17)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Bluegrass State native Channing Foster had herself quite a match in her home state, scoring in each half to lead Ole Miss (10-6-1, 4-3-1 SEC) to a 2-0 road victory over Kentucky (4-13, 0-8 SEC) Thursday night.
Foster got the Rebels out in front right from the jump, collecting a CeCe Kizer rebound right in front of goal and slotting home her seventh goal of the season from eight yards out.
The Rebels continued to press on for the next 43 minutes but were unable to break through the Kentucky defense, taking a 1-0 advantage into the break.
Much like the first half, Ole Miss came out flying to start the second half and it paid off in the 53rd-minute with another goal from the sophomore striker from Graves County, Kentucky. Maddy Houghton played in Foster with a through ball, and with all the time in the world, Foster made no mistake about it.
Foster nearly made it a hat trick a few minutes later, with a picture-perfect ball over the top from Ella Johnson putting her in on goal. However, keeper Payton Woodward was able to make the save.
However, the brace from Foster was more than enough to lead the Rebels to victory, thanks in part to freshman Morgan McAslan's first-career clean sheet.
With the road portion of its schedule in the rear-view mirror, Ole Miss turns its attention to Sunday's Magnolia Cup showdown against Mississippi State. Fans are encouraged to wear powder blue, with the first 250 fans receiving an Ole Miss soccer scarf. Additionally, prizes will be raffled off as part of the annual Prize-a-Palooza match.
MAKING HISTORY
In the third installment of the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the Rebels ranked No. 9, the highest ranking in program history. The ranking followed a pair of Ole Miss wins over LA Tech and a UCF team who are receiving votes. The team currently ranks 15th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and on TopDrawerSoccer.com. Ole Miss held on to No. 10 on CollegeSoccerNews.com.
SEC TIME
Ole Miss' travel to Lexington for its first conference match of the season against Kentucky. In 2021, the Rebels went 6-3-1 in SEC games. Mo O'Connor led the team in goals with five along with two assists. Ramsey Davis compiled a goal and three assists in SEC play and Taylor Radecki tallied two assists.
Ashley Orkus started 10 conference games and saved 45 shots for a 0.776 save percentage. Orkus also earned four shutouts and had a goals-against-average of 1.27.
CORNERED
This past week, the Rebels took 26 corner kicks in games against Western Kentucky and Southern Miss. Seventeen of the 26 corners came in the tie to Southern Miss, which is the most corners taken in a single game this season by Ole Miss.
Ole Miss moved up to second in the nation in corner kicks per game, averaging 8.88 corner kicks. The Rebels have used set pieces to their advantage this year, scoring nine goals off corners, throw ins or free kicks.
NO FLY ZONE
Opposing teams have managed two goals against Ole Miss' defense through eight games. Due large in part to the six 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 mark.
ROAD RAGE
The Rebels have played three road games this year and hold a 2-0-1 record. In road games, Ole Miss is outscoring its opponents 6-1, including two clean sheets.
Three of the next five games are away from Oxford.
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.) - 24
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.
