AUSTIN MCAFEE I The Daily Mississippian
Mandy McCalla tries to keep the ball away from a Jackson State defender Nov. 15.
No. 22 Ole Miss (16-5-2) will look to continue a record-setting season on Thursday night when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face No. 3 Florida State (19-1-3) in the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
After defeating in-state foe Jackson State 9-0 over the weekend, the Rebels look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the program’s history against the powerhouse that is Florida State. The winner of Thursday’s game will play the winner of BYU and Colorado, who will face off earlier in the day. Beating Florida State would give this year’s Rebels their 17th win of the season, adding to the already-record total they have set this year.
After Friday’s win over Jackson State, Ole Miss head coach Matt Mott spoke about the challenge Florida State would present for his team.
“I’m very familiar with them,” Mott said referencing his time as an assistant at Texas and Auburn, where he faced the Seminoles multiple times in the NCAA Tournament. “I think they’re the best-coached team in the country. I think (Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian) is as good as there is, and they have a bunch of really good players. I’m happy with where our team is at this point in the season. We’ll go down there and be excited to play and play as hard as we possibly can can and hopefully get a result.”
The Rebels have set a multitude of individual program records this season, including senior Rafaelle Souza becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer. Her hat-trick on Friday brought her total to 44 goals on her career. Mandy McCalla has also moved into the top five all-time scorers in school history. The senior has scored 15 goals this season, bringing her career total to 37, one goal shy of third place all-time for the Rebels.
Thursday’s game is scheduled for kick-off at 6 p.m. There will be no video available online, but live stats can be tracked during the contest at www.OleMissSports.com.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss soccer, follow @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-Nick Eley
njeley@go.olemiss.edu
