The Ole Miss soccer team will look to build on an impressive 2015 season under the watchful eye of head coach Matt Mott as he returns for his seventh season. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time in program history before bowing out to Texas A&M. It was a historic season for the Rebels as they finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference, an all-time high.
Ole Miss has released the 2016 soccer schedule, which includes 11 home games and nine away games. The Rebels will play a tune-up match at Southern Methodist University before hosting Louisiana-Lafayette for the home opener. From there, the Rebels will play seven home games within the space of just 24 days. Northwestern State visits Oxford on Aug. 21, Memphis on the 26th, and Lipscomb on the 28th before the Rebels take a brief trip to Ann Arbor, the first in the history of Ole Miss soccer, to face Big 10 powerhouse Michigan on Sept. 2.
The Rebels then return to Oxford to battle Troy on Sept. 4 before welcoming the University of Missouri to open up the SEC regular season on Sept. 9. Finally, South Alabama, a team that could also be found at the NCAA tournament last year, journey to Oxford on Sept. 11. The match marks the final non-conference home game of the Rebels’ season.
Ole Miss hits the road after their three-game home stand to face Louisiana State University for their first conference road match of the year. The Rebs will have little time to recover after facing the Tigers as they play the University of Tulsa just two days later. From that point on, five of the Rebels’ remaining seven games will be on the road, including games against Kentucky and Alabama on Oct. 1 and 6 respectively. Closing out their home schedule, Ole Miss is slated to face fellow SEC giant Florida before getting a shot at the team that ended their 2016 NCAA tournament run, Texas A&M (Oct. 14). While hearts may still be heavy following their 5-4 penalty kick shootout loss during the tournament, the Rebels hope to make a statement before hitting the road for one final regular season run against the University of Georgia (Oct. 20), University of Vanderbilt (Oct. 23) and the University of South Carolina (Oct. 27).
The 2016 SEC Tournament is scheduled to begin Oct. 31 and continue Nov. 6. This year, teams will battle it out in Orange Beach, Alabama, home of the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
The Rebels will need several players to step up during the upcoming season, as the team lost a huge senior class that included Jessica Hiskey, Jennifer Miller, Maddie Friedmann, Olivia Harrison, Bethany Bunker and Samantha Sanders. SEC Freshman of the Year and top scoring freshman of the 2015 season CeCe Kizer will look to continue her strong run of form and lead the Rebels to another successful season. Returning will be rising senior Addie Forbus, who was second on the team in goals scored last season with 11, along with many other key contributors from last year’s team.
