The University of Mississippi Athletics

Sunday, September 22
Baton Rouge, La.
6 PM

Ole Miss

at

LSU

Kate Smith

Soccer Heads to LSU for Second Leg of SEC Opening Week

9/21/2024 | Soccer

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Soccer continues its road stretch Sunday night in Baton Rouge as the Rebels take on the LSU Tigers. The match is set to start at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

QUICK KICKS
  • Ole Miss lost its SEC opener Thursday night against Tennessee.
  • Kelly Brady scored her third goal of the season in the match and has now scored in back-to-back conference contests dating back to last season.
  • Ole Miss and LSU have matched up three times in the last two seasons with the Rebels winning in Oxford in 2023 and knocking the Tigers out of the SEC Tournament in 2022.
  • Brady scored the game winner on a penalty kick in the 20th minute in 2023, the first SEC goal of her career.
  • Kayla Keefer leads the Rebels in scoring with four goals and two assists for 10 total points.
  • Freshman Katie Ramsden leads the Rebels in assists, dishing one out in two of her last three matches.
  • Ten different Rebels have scored a goal so far this season: Kayla Keefer (4), Kelly Brady (3), Evie Ewing, Sarah Granno, Gili Johnson, Bella Leonard, Astrid Nyquist, Kate Smith, Grace Freeman, and Aubrey Mister each have one.
  • In four of the five wins this season, the Rebels have generated 15 or more shots: Southern (33), Georgia State (15), McNeese (22), and at Samford (16).
  • In the five victories the Rebels have outshot their opponents (93-36) good for a plus 57 margin.
  • Keefer became the first freshman since Channing Foster in 2017 to record a hat trick and the 20th Rebel all-time to score three goals in a match.
  • The Rebels return their top two goal scorers from last season in senior Kelly Brady and sophomore Gili Johnson, who accounted for 66.7 percent of total scoring and 52.2 percent of total points in 2023.
  • Ole Miss returns 90 percent of its total assists, 84.8 percent of total points, and 83.3 percent of total goals from 2023.
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss dropped their SEC opener Thursday night in Knoxville 2-1 to Tennessee. Kelly Brady scored the team's lone goal and Shu Ohba made six saves, including one on a penalty kick, but the Rebels could not find a second half equalizer to earn a result.

The Rebels took seven shots on the night, placing four on goal, and outshooting the Volunteers in the second half, 5-3.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
LSU was also on the road for its conference opener, falling 1-0 to No. 3 Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Tigers are 5-3-1 on the season and riding a two-match loss streak coming into Sunday's tilt. LSU has allowed 14 goals this season, the second-most in the SEC, and currently sports a goals against average of 1.56.

Ida Hermannsdottir leads the team in scoring with six goals, four coming in their final two non-conference matches. Head coach Sian Hudson is in her fifth season at the helm of the program.

SPREADING THE LOVE
Ten different Rebels have scored through nine games in 2024. Kayla Keefer leads the way with four, with Kelly Brady having two. Evie Ewing, Sarah Granno, Gili Johnson, Bella Leonard, Astrid Nyquist, Kate Smith, Grace Freeman, and Aubrey Mister each have one. In four of their five wins this season, the Rebels have generated 15 or more shots. Across the five matches they have outshot their opponents (93-36), good for a plus 57 margin. Ole Miss generated 33 shots, 16 of them being on goal in their opening win vs. Southern.  It was the most shots by a Rebel team in a game since March 27, 2021 against Georgia Southern.

SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
The Southeastern Conference named Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania native Kayla Keefer as the SEC Soccer Freshman of the Week on August 19. Keefer picked up her first award after just one game on the pitch for the Rebels. She is the first Rebel since 2020 to receive Freshman of the Week honors.
Keefer became the first freshman since Channing Foster in 2017 to record a hat trick and the 20th Rebel all-time to score three goals in a match. She led an explosive offensive attack in which Ole Miss generated 33 shots, 16 of them being on goal in their opening win vs. Southern. It was the most shots by a Rebel team in a game since March 27, 2021 against Georgia Southern.

BUILD
Molly Rouse enters year two at the helm of the Ole Miss Soccer program after being hired in May of 2023. She compiled a 7-7-3 record in year one, winning her first regular season game and her first conference game. The Rebels forced seven shutouts in 2023 and allowed one or fewer goals in 12 of the 17 matches. Ole Miss ranked fourth in the SEC in goals allowed per game (1.18) and fourth in goals allowed on the season (20).

PUT THE LEAGUE ON NOTICE
Five Rebels were named to the 2024 SEC Preseason Watchlist Wednesday morning including Kelly Brady, Aubrey Mister, Lauren Montgomery, Shu Ohba, and Hattie Patterson.
Brady returns for her senior season after leading the Rebel attack in 2023 with eight goals scored. She converted all three of her penalty kick opportunities and scored four game winners. Mister was the Rebels' assist leader last season and finished third on the team in points. Montgomery finished third on the team in minutes played and started in every game but one.
Ohba started 14 games in goal for the Rebels last year, putting up the fifth-lowest single season goals against average in program history. Patterson played in all 17 games on the back line as a freshman for the Rebels last year.

RETURNING FIREPOWER
Ole Miss returned its top two goal scorers from a season ago. Senior Kelly Brady led the team in goals scored, points, shots, shots on goal, and penalty kicks. She became the first Rebel to score a hat trick since 2018 and converted all three of the Rebels' penalty kick attempts on the year. Sophomore Gili Johnson finished second on the team in total points, goals scored, and shots on goal. She tallied four goals on the season including a brace against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 10. Johnson saw 860 minutes of action in her rookie season, appearing in all 17 games making 10 starts.

BRICK WALL
One of the premier keepers in the SEC returns between the posts in 2024 for the Rebels in Shu Ohba. Ohba enters fresh off competing with Team Japan as an alternate goalkeeper at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In her 15 games last season she led the SEC in saves and saves per match, making 67 saves for an average of 4.47 per game. Ohba ranked second in the conference in save percentage (.838) and posted seven shutouts in her 2023 campaign. She earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice, becoming the first Rebel since 2012 to do so. Ohba also received All-SEC Second Team honors and was selected to the 2023 United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team.

AN IMPRESSIVE FRESHMAN CLASS
The program welcomes 12 freshmen to the roster for the 2024 season. Kayla Keefer earned three varsity letters at Central Columbia and was named the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania. The trio of Astrid Nyquist, Katie Ramsden and Taylor Howarth all hail from international countries. Tate Blincoe arrives in Oxford after lettering in soccer, football and track in high school.

Tatum Hofstetter and Sofia Barrie both come to Ole Miss from the state of Arizona and Grace Smith joins the Rebels from Cypress, Texas. Maryann Beach scored 44 goals and dished out 28 assists in her high school career while Ally Thomas looks to add length to the Rebel back line. Rounding out the newcomers is Georgia Skelton who led Atlee to a 2021 Region Championship and Adora Nwosu who was a dual-sport athlete at Aaron Academy.

THROUGH THE PORTAL
Five players joined the Rebels during the offseason in EK Uithoven, Bella Leonard, Erin Martin, Taylor Prigge, and Sarah Granno. Uithoven returns to the Magnolia state after three seasons in Tucson at Arizona. Sophomore Bella Leornard arrives in Oxford after one year at Notre Dame.

Senior Erin Martin appeared in 55 games at Georgetown, making 15 starts. She earned BIG EAST All-Freshman honors her rookie season and earned BIG EAST All-Academic accolades her sophomore campaign.  Sophomore Taylor Prigge looks to bolster the goalkeeper room coming over from Utah.

Sophomore Sarah Granno arrives in Oxford after one season at Memphis. The Roseville, California native appeared in 15 matches and scored one goal for the Tigers.
 
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Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Soccer on X at @OleMissSoccer, on the Ole Miss Soccer Facebook page, and on Instagram at @officialolemisssoccer. Subscribe to the Ole Miss soccer newsletter stay up to date with the best content from the pitch.
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