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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Florida
No. 13 Soccer Plays SEC Home Opener
9/21/2022 | Soccer
Rebels Take On Florida in Oxford
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NO. 13 OLE MISS (7-0-2, 1-0-0 SEC) vs. Florida (2-6-0, 0-1-0 SEC) Thursday, Sept. 22 • 6 p.m. CT • Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Soccer Stadium  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • FLORIDA (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss remains undefeated after a 2-1 victory over Kentucky to begin SEC play. The Rebels won their SEC opener for the second-straight year.
• The Rebels continue conference play against Florida in Oxford on Thursday and on the road against Auburn on Sunday.
• The Rebels are down in the all-time series against Florida with a 4-21-1 record but have won the last two meetings. Ole Miss has the slight edge on Auburn, holding a 13-12-4 record against them.
• Ole Miss went 6-3-1 in SEC games in 2021 which was the best since its 2018 campaign.
• Taylor Radecki's seven assists are fourth in the nation and her 0.78 assists per game is 10th in the nation.
• Senior Ashley Orkus scored her first goal of her career in the 2-1 win over Kentucky along with four saves. First time a keeper scored for Ole Miss since 2014.
• Ole Miss ranks third in the nation and first in the SEC in corner kicks per game, averaging 8.33 corners.
• Ole Miss climbed two spots to 13th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Rebels moved up six spots to 9th on TopDrawerSoccer.com.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
Samantha Bohon started her first season as the Gators' head soccer coach as the third coach in program history. She was hired after a stellar 15-year run with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Division II. In her 15 seasons coaching the Eagles, she accumulated a 167-76-17 record and earned SSC Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
The Gators hold a 2-6 record after playing a tough non-conference schedule, including games against UCF and No. 12 Florida State. Florida is coming of a loss to Tennessee in its first conference match of the season.
Florida forward Alivia Gonzalez and midfielder Julianne Leskauskas lead the team with two goals each. Leskauskas attacks the net more than anyone on the team with 22 shots and nine shots on goal. She also is one of the team's five assists. Forward Maddy Pirrello scored her first goal of the season in her third game played to start conference play against Tennessee.
The Gators' keeper Alexa Goldberg started all 8 games, compiling 29 saves and one shutout. Goldberg and the defense have kept Florida in their games. Five of the Gators' eight games have been decided by just one goal.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss is down in the all-time series against Florida with a 4-21-1 record. However, the Rebels won the last two meetings, including a 1-0 win in Gainesville. The last time the two teams met in Oxford, Ole Miss took down No. 19 Florida 3-2 in October 2019.
PREVIOUS GAME (9/3/17)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ole Miss (8-2-2, 3-1-0 SEC) grabbed an early lead and made it stand up on Sunday, holding strong on a warm afternoon under the Florida sun to pick up a 1-0 victory over the host Gators (3-6-3, 2-1-1 SEC) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
After weathering an early spell of pressure from the Gators, Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead behind its talisman. Hitting a feed from Haleigh Stackpole down the wing first time, Mo O'Connor found Channing Foster in the box and the fifth-year senior buried the chance, turning her defender and hammering home her fifth goal of the season.
The Rebels continued to look dangerous going forward throughout the rest of the half, and would have doubled their lead in the 33rd minute on a Molly Martin header if not for an excellent save from Gator keeper Alexa Goldberg. Instead, Ole Miss took it's 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
While Ole Miss was unable to find a second goal, the Rebel defense did well to keep the Florida attack at bay in the second half.
The Gators' had a quality chance to equalize came in the 73rd minute on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. While the ensuing shot cleared the Rebel wall, Ashley Orkus was well positioned to corral the ball.
Florida hurled a relentless effort forward in the waning minutes but Ole Miss was able to hang on, winning for the fifth time in the last six matches and picking up the program's first-ever win in Gainesville.
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 13th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and 9th on TopDrawerSoccer.com.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Thirteen different Rebels registered a goal this season, which is the most goal scorers since the 2018 season when the Ole Miss had 14 players score a goal. Five players have multiple goals this season.
The 13 goal scorers include 10 players netting their first goals as a Rebel and seven players with their first career goal. Ashley Orkus and Kayla Chatman-Haggety tallied their first career goals and as Rebels in a 2-1 win over Kentucky.
BOTH SIDES OF THE PITCH
Ashley Orkus not only saved four shots from going in on Friday afternoon in 2-1 win over Kentucky, she also scored her first career goal. Orkus' free kick from midfield went through the Kentucky keeper's hands and into the net. She is the first keeper to score for Ole Miss since Kelly McCormick converted a penalty kick against Iowa State in 2014.
Orkus is first in the conference in both minutes played and save percentage. She is second in the SEC with a 0.56 goals-against average.
NO FLY ZONE
Opposing teams have managed three goals against Ole Miss' defense through nine 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 in a season mark.
HOME IN THE SEC
The Rebels the last two season have played well at home, especially in conference matches. In 2021, Ole Miss outscored its SEC opponents 10-4, tallying a 4-0-1 conference home record. Ole Miss, in 2022, continue the trend with a 4-0-1 record at home and outscoring its non-conference opponents 15-1.
The Rebels host their SEC home opener this Thursday against Florida.
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.) - 274
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.) - 39
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.
