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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
UCF
No. 13 Soccer Makes Way to Orlando For Date with UCF
9/3/2022 | Soccer
Rebels and Knights Set for 5 p.m. Matchup
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NO. 13 OLE MISS (4-0-1, 0-0-0 SEC) vs. UCF (2-0-2, 0-0-0 AAC) Sunday, Sept. 4 • 5 p.m. CT • Orlando, Fla UCF Soccer and Track Complex  |
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| WATCH • LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • UCF NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF) |
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QUICK KICKS
• Ole Miss stay undefeated with a 5-0 victory over Louisiana Tech in Oxford.
• Ole Miss' five-match shutout streak to start the season is the longest in program-history. The Rebels have outscored their opponents 17-0.
• The Rebels hit the road again for Sunday's match at UCF in Orlando. The two teams are tied in the series with a 2-2-1 record.
• Taylor Radecki's two assists in Thursday's win against LA Tech gave her six on the season. Radecki is tied for the nation-lead with Rice's Grace Collins.
• Ole Miss will be looking to avenge last season's 3-0 defeat to UCF on Sunday.
• The Rebels are one of 12 teams in the nation to not allow a goal this season.
• Senior Ashley Orkus is the only keeper with five clean sheets in 2022.
• At 3.40 goals per game, Ole Miss is the nation's 11th-ranked scoring offense. The Rebels also rank third in total points with 54
• Marykate McGuire ranks top-10 in total points with 11. McGuire leads the Rebels with four goals along with three assists.
• The Rebels stand along in total assists with 20 and second in the nation averaging 4 assists per game.
• Ole Miss is ranked 13th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll
SCOUTING UCF
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, since taking over in 2013, has kept Central Florida soccer as a prominent team. Sahaydak earned her 100th win in UCF's season opener against Florida, and currently has a 101-46-20 and eight winning seasons in 10 years. Last season, the Knights fell short of 10 wins with an 8-7-1 overall record and a 3-4-1 league mark.
The Knights remain undefeated despite a tough beginning schedule, playing Southeastern Conference teams in UF and LSU on opening weekend. UCF holds a 2-0-2 record, picking wins over Florida and Florida Gulf Coast, both wins coming at home. The Knights' Thursday game at North Florida, was canceled as they wait to host Ole Miss.
Central Florida is outscoring their opponents 7-2 but has struggled to score on the road. The offense is led by fifth-year player Kristen Scott and her three goals. Scott scored a brace in their 3-1 victory over FGCU. Three other players found the net this season, Mallory Olsson has two and Katie Bradley and Dayana Martin each have one. UCF's scored seven times, including six assisted goals.
Redshirt senior keeper Caroline DeLisle is in UCF soccer's top-10 in career saves and goals-against average. DeLisle has started all four games and compiled 15 saves along with a 0.882 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average. Before the season, she was named American Athletic Conference Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and a member of the Preseason All-Conference Team. DeLisle also earned AAC Goalkeeper of the Week on August 22.
SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss and UCF are even in the all-time series 2-2-1. The two teams last played on September 9, 2021, in Oxford. No. 17 UCF came away with the 3-0 win over the Rebels. Ole Miss won the first two matchups in 2005 and 2007.
PREVIOUS GAME (9/1/22)
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 13 Ole Miss' offense explodes in a 5-0 victory in the first meeting against Louisiana Tech at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
The Rebels found the Lady Techsters goal often, outshooting LA Tech, 25-3, including 11 shots on goal. The depth of the team showed out again with two players earning their first career goals.
Ole Miss took the lead 20 minutes into the game off a corner from Taylor Radecki. The Florida native dropped a ball in front of the net for Mo O'Connor to head it over the Lady Techsters keeper.
At the end of the half, Lucy Green found the ball through a crowd in front of the opposing team's net after another well-placed corner from Radecki and squeaked it by the goalkeeper. Green's first goal of her career gave the Rebels a 2-0 halftime lead. Radecki's two assists give her six on the season which still leads the nation.
Ole Miss put even more pressure on Louisiana Tech taking 17 of the 25 shots in the second half. In the 74th minute, Jenna Kemp located a wide-open Marykate McGuire streaking down the field McGuire with a player on her back, fired a shot to the right back post for her team-leading fourth goal.
Even with less than five minutes remaining, the Rebels kept their foot on the gas. Alex Schoenstadt kicked a bouncing cross from Amber Fortenberry just out of reach into the left side of the net.
Schoenstadt was not finished as she came back for the brace about a minute later. Stella Downing chipped the ball from the corner of the eighteen to find Schoenstadt behind the defense. The Washington native used her head to find the back of the goal.
Ashley Orkus finished with her fifth clean sheet in as many games and two saves. The shutout broke the program record with 23 shutouts in Orkus' career.
NOT GOING ANYWHERE
Ole Miss remains in the top-15 at No. 13 in the most recent edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The team has been ranked all three weeks to start the season. 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 five straight clean sheets to open the season is its longest in program history. It broke the four-game mark set by the 2003 team and later done by the 2011 Rebels team.
GET DEFENSIVE
Ole Miss' offense is rolling but also the defense has shut down every opponent. The Rebels' defense is minimizing the opposing offenses' chances of scoring by keeping them from shooting. The opposing team has yet to shoot 10 times or more. Memphis came the closest with nine shots and six shots on 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 20 assists in just five games. The Rebels' 20 assists are the most of any school in the nation and on pace to break the most ever by an Ole Miss team in a season.
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.
POINTS PILE UP
Rebels have compiled 54 points in five games, ranking them third in the nation. Marykate McGuire scored her fourth goal of the season, giving her a team-leading 11 points. Mo O'Connor scored her third to have nine points, and Taylor Radecki has six points all from assists.
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.) 267
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.) - 36
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.
