FRIDAY: NO. 19 TEXAS A&M 2, NO. 23 OLE MISS 1
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In a hard-fought match that went down to the wire, it took an inadvertent touch in the box to set up a penalty kick and decide things as No. 23 Ole Miss (12-4-2, 5-3-1 SEC) fell to No. 19 Texas A&M (13-3-1, 8-1-0 SEC) by a score of 2-1.
The Rebels took the lead in the first half before the Aggies would equalize in the 67th minute. With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Ole Miss was called for a handball in the box on an inadvertent touch to set up a penalty kick that gave the home-standing Aggies the lead.
Ole Miss couldn’t find an answering goal as Texas A&M picked up the win in the battle between the two nationally-ranked teams.
“It was a good match that was hard fought,” said Ole Miss head coach Matt Mott. “That’s twice this season with two of our four losses coming on unintentional and inadvertent hand balls called in the box very late in games. That’s really disappointing because we played really well. It’s part of the game and what we have to deal with, but I’m really proud of our players for coming into a tough place to play and handling playing in front of a tough crowd.
SUNDAY: NO. 23 OLE MISS 2, ALABAMA 1
Senior forward Rafaelle Souza came up big for the Rebels on Sunday afternoon, punching in a pair of goals that included the golden goal in overtime to give No. 23 Ole Miss (13-4-2, 6-3-1 SEC) a 2-1 victory over Alabama (6-11-0, 4-6-0 SEC).
With time running down in the first overtime period, senior Erin Emerson lined up a corner kick from the near side of the field and sent the ball into the box. Souza leaped up over an Alabama defender and headed the ball into the net past the near post to give the Rebels the victory in the 97th minute of play.
It was one of many opportunities the Rebels had on the afternoon, but one of the few not turned away by the Alabama defense and goalkeeper Emily Rusk.
Ole Miss tallied 24 shots on the afternoon, many on set pieces in the box as the Rebels took 12 corners, but only found the back of the net twice. The two times was enough for the win and three more points in the conference standings.
“It was a very hard-fought match today and Sunday’s in the SEC are always tough,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “We got off to a good start and got a good goal. Then Pia Rijsdijk got a good goal when she got free. We took control in the second half, but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Rafa Souza finally got a good one and put it in for us to get us the win.”
