Soccer Set for Road Contest Against Lipscomb

			OLE MISS (3-1-1, 0-0-0 SEC) at Lipscomb (3-3-0, 0-0-0 ASUN) Thursday, September 7 • 6 p.m. CT • Nashville, Tenn. Lipscomb Soccer Complex
LIVE STATS OLE MISS NOTES (PDF) • SEC NOTES (PDF)

QUICK KICKS

Ole Miss picked up their third win of the season on Sunday, defeating Georgia State 1-0 in Atlanta.
Gili Johnson scored her first collegiate goal against the Panthers which would also prove to be the game winner.
Shu Ohba was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after posting back-to-back shutouts against Samford and Georgia State.
The Rebels have allowed just two goals and have held opponents to just 21 shots on goal over their first five matches.
Five different Rebels have scored goals and eight different Rebels have earned points through five matches.
Kelly Brady leads the team in goals with two and points with four.
Kate Smith leads the team in shots and shots on goal, placing eight of her 10 shots on goal.
Ole Miss and Lipscomb have only faced off once before with the Rebels winning 3-1 in 2016 in Oxford.
Ole Miss brought in 11 new faces during the offseason including three Division I transfers who were all named Freshman of the Year in their respective conferences.
Taylor Radecki returns for a fourth season at Ole Miss after leading the team in assists last year with nine. She has 16 total assists over the last two seasons.
Ole Miss will host Louisiana Tech this Sunday for their final non-conference match of the season.

SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shu Ohba was named SEC Soccer Defensive Player of the Week by the conference office after posting back-to-back shutouts last week for the Rebels.

It was the first weekly award for Ole Miss and the first for Ohba since joining the conference just this season. Ohba becames the first Rebel to earn a conference weekly recognition since Haleigh Stackpole last did on October 18, 2021. It was also just the second time over the last four seasons that a Rebel was been named Defensive Player of the Week (Ashley Orkus 10/11/21).

Ohba recorded back-to-back shutouts against Samford and previously undefeated Georgia State last week. She made four saves on 12 shots faced against the Bulldogs and two saves on nine shots faced against the Panthers for a total of six saves on 21 shots faced. She has now recorded three shutouts in her first five games as a Rebel and only allowed two total goals.

The junior leads the SEC in saves (19), save percentage (.905), and saves per game (3.80/game). Her three shutouts are tied for most in the conference and her goals against average of 0.40 has her tied for second with South Carolina's Heather Hinz and Kentucky's Marz Josephson.

SPREADING THE LOVE
Five different Rebels have scored goals and eight different Rebels have earned points through five matches. Kelly Brady is the lone Rebel to have scored more than one goal this season and is also the only one to have taken a penalty kick.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Nine new Rebels made their debut in the first match of the season. Of those nine, five earned a spot in the starting lineup and played for 30+ minutes. Shu Ohba, the 2022 SoCon Player of the Year, started the match in goal and played all 90 minutes recording three saves and a shutout. Evie Ewing scored a goal in what was the first match of her collegiate career and Kelly Brady scored her first goal as a Rebel on a penalty kick, her 14^th career goal.

Head coach Molly Rouse picked up a win in her debut at the helm of the Ole Miss Soccer program.

NEW LEADER ON THE PITCH
Molly Rouse was hired as the new head coach of the Ole Miss soccer team on May 18, becoming just the third head coach in the history of the program. Rouse came to Oxford from St. George, Utah where she had been the head coach of the Utah Tech women's soccer program for three seasons. Rouse was brought on to guide the program as Utah Tech made the transition from Division II to Division I, becoming the first head coach at the Division I level in program history.

During her three seasons at the helm of the program, Rouse won 19 games and picked up the program's first Division I win on March 11, 2021 as they beat Chicago State 4-0. In 2022, Rouse led the Trailblazers to their first winning Division I season in program history, finishing 10-6-2. Utah Tech went 6-3-2 in WAC play and earned a No. 4 seed in the WAC Soccer Tournament, their highest seed since joining the conference.

The 2022 edition of the Trailblazers led the Western Athletic Conference in Goals Against Average and Goals Allowed. They allowed just 14 goals in 18 games for a 0.78 GAA. Utah Tech also posted nine shutouts in 18 games, including a stretch of seven-straight clean sheets. Rouse developed four All-WAC players in three seasons, including three in 2022: forward Karli Nyland and defenders Gracie Knutzen and Ella Carmody.

Rouse played her collegiate soccer at Minnesota for four seasons from 2007-10. She appeared in 88 career matches for the Golden Gophers and scored 18 total goals with 17 assists, including an assist in a school record tying five-straight matches in 2008. In 2008, Rouse started all 26 games for a Minnesota team that would earn a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Title. That team would win a program-record 22 games and make it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

SUPPORT ROLE
Longtime associate head coach Rob Thompson will be entering his 14^th season as a member of the soccer staff, working primarily with goalkeepers and as the program's recruiting coordinator.

Thompson was pivotal in the development of Ashley Orkus into arguably the top keeper in the nation since her arrival at Ole Miss in 2018. Orkus was the first-ever three-time SEC Goalkeeper of the Year, one of two players in program history to garner United Soccer Coaches All-America status multiple times and in 2021 became Ole Miss' first-ever First Team All-American. By the time Orkus finished her career at Ole Miss, she had become the Rebels' all-time leader in saves and shutouts. She is the only Rebel to ever reach the 300 saves mark, finishing with 318 over four seasons.

Both Dane Obermeyer and Kelsey Fausett joined Rouse as assistant coaches in Oxford after spending time on her staff at Utah Tech.

Obermeyer was a part of Rouse's staff for all three seasons at Utah Tech, serving as the program's recruiting coordinator as they transitioned to Division I. Obermeyer was an essential piece of the success of the program, helping to lead the Trailblazers to their first winning Division I season in program history, finishing 10-6-2. Utah Tech went 6-3-2 in WAC play and earned a No. 4 seed in the WAC Soccer Tournament, their highest seed since joining the conference.

Fausett was an assistant coach for the Trailblazer's historic 2022 season, contributing to the program's success from the sidelines, but she was also a player in the program for five years prior to her first season as a coach. Fausett played in 73 games as a midfielder for the Trailblazers, scoring 16 goals and dishing out 19 assists during that time. She finished her career top-10 in multiple career categories at Utah tech, including third all-time in assists, sixth all-time in points, seventh all-time in goals, and eighth all-time in matches played.

Madisyn Pezzino, a former Rebel standout on the field, has been a part of Ole Miss soccer since 2018 and will continue to do so as Rouse's Director of Analytics & Operations. Pezzino played forward for the Rebels from 2018-21 and then joined the staff as a student assistant during the 2022 season.

TRANSFER TO THE SIP
Three experienced upperclassmen joined the Rebels during the offseason in Kelly Brady, Meredith King, and Shu Ohba.

Brady, the 2020-21 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, came to Ole Miss from Central Connecticut State where she has played the last three seasons and earned multiple conference honors. She had 11 total points with four goals and three assists her freshman season, earning her Northeast Conference All-Rookie honors. Her sophomore season Brady was named to the All-NEC First Team and the NEWISA ALL-New England Third Team with three goals and five assists over 19 games. She led Central Connecticut in assists and shots on goal for the season and put together her first-career multi-goal game with two goals against Saint Francis.

Brady was once again named All-NEC First Team in 2022 as she led the Blue Devils in points with 16 total. She scored a team-high six goals and dished out a team-leading five assists over 15 games.

King, the 2021 Spring ASUN Freshman of the Year, has played the last three seasons at Liberty University where she has been a staple in the front attack for the Flames. During her freshman season, King scored two game-winning goals and had five total points during the COVID-19 shortened season. One of her game-winning goals came against North Florida in the ASUN Championship Tournament, sending the Flames to the championship game. The forward was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team as well as being named Freshman of the Year for the conference.

During her sophomore season, King racked up 12 total points with four goals and four assists. She finished the season tied for fifth in the ASUN in assists and was top-20 in both goals and total points. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native had four total points in 2022 with one goal and two assists.

Ohba, the 2022 SoCon Player of the Year and the 2021 SoCon Freshman of the Year, played two seasons at East Tennessee State, starting between the posts in 26 games for the Buccaneers. During her freshman season, Ohba set a new ETSU single-season record in shutouts with seven, recorded 74 saves, and allowed just 14 goals. She was ranked 23^rd in the nation in save percentage and 47^th in goals against average.

During her sophomore season, Ohba made 60 saves in just 10 games played after missing the first four games of the season to play in the U-20 FIFA Women's World Cup for Team Japan in Costa Rica. All three of her shutouts came during conference play and she had five games with at least five saves.

SEC PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Six Rebels were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List on Tuesday with both new and returning faces in the mix. Kayla Chatman-Haggerty, Aubrey Mister, Lauren Montgomery, and Taylor Radecki all made the list as they return for another run through the conference. Kelly Brady and Shu Ohba earned the honor as they both look to make their own marks on the SEC in their first season in the league.

SEC PRESEASON POLL
The Rebels were picked to finish last in the SEC in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Arkansas was picked to win the conference with Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas A&M rounding out the top five.

Arkansas
Alabama
South Carolina
Georgia
Texas A&M
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
LSU
Mississippi State
Auburn
Missouri
Kentucky
Florida
Ole Miss

REBELS ON THE BIG STAGE
The Rebels will play on national television twice this season, once on the road and once in Oxford. Both games will be on SEC Network with the first taking place on September 21 in Nashville against Vanderbilt. Later that weekend Ole Miss will return home to host Auburn on September 24, also on SEC Network.

National TV Games
September 21 at Vanderbilt (6 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
September 24 vs. Auburn (2 p.m. CT) – SEC Network

OLE MISS SOCCER PROMO SCHEDULE
September 10 vs. Louisiana Tech – Military Appreciation Day
September 15 vs. LSU – Rebel Kids Club Night & Kids Zone
September 24 vs. Auburn – Powder Blue Match; Pom Giveaway
October 5 vs. Missouri – Barbie Night; Pink Sunglasses Giveaway
October 19 vs. Alabama – Greek Night; Thundersticks Giveaway
October 26 vs. Kentucky – Fan Appreciation Night; Scarf Giveaway

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Soccer on Twitter at @OleMissSoccer, on the Ole Miss Soccer Facebook page, and on Instagram at @officialolemisssoccer.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Kelly Brady

Kayla Chatman-Haggerty

Evie Ewing

Gili Johnson

Meredith King

Aubrey Mister

Lauren Montgomery

Shu Ohba

Ashley Orkus

Madisyn Pezzino

Taylor Radecki

Kate Smith

Haleigh Stackpole

The University of Mississippi Athletics