As “300 Violin Orchestra” pulses through the loudspeakers, the Ole Miss soccer team readies for their pregame introductions. They stand in two even lines and face each other.
Off to the side is senior midfielder Olivia Harrison.
As the public address announcer introduces a team member, the player tosses an autographed miniature soccer ball into the crowd, then runs to perform a personalized handshake with Harrison.
Harrison salutes Jennifer Miller, pretends to take a selfie with Liza Harbin, throws a fake punch at Addie Forbus who ducks under it, then shakes Harrison’s hand.
“The handshakes are a tradition,” Harrison said. “It got passed down through the years.”
The players then run back through the lines and head to the center circle to greet the referees and the opposing team. The Rebels head back to the sideline where they form a circle around Harrison, and she fires them up, yelling encouragement.
“It’s something we’re trying to focus on in that game,” Harrison said. “It can be as generic as ‘let’s play as hard as we can for 90 minutes’ or it can be specific like ‘let’s focus on our finishes.’”
In addition to handshake and pregame huddle duty, she leads the team in chanting “Hotty Toddy” to the crowd after the game is over.
“She’s an emotional leader,” Matthew Mott, head coach, said. “She has this high energy level that’s contagious, and it makes you want to be around her. That’s how she is and it has an effect on the team.”
Harrison’s teammate, Jessica Hiskey, can speak to Harrison’s leadership qualities.
“I don’t think she realizes it, but everyone else around her just feels her presence,” Hiskey said. “She really has the ability to pump energy into everyone and have us come out with a lot of intensity.”
Once the game starts, Harrison plays with the same intensity she uses to pump up her team, starting every match for the Rebels in 2013 and 2014. Her role this season has been as a substitute, coming off the bench in each of the nine games she’s played, but her impact is still felt.
“It was difficult at first, but I think it’s a good fit for me and the team,” Harrison said.
So far this season, Harrison has scored one goal by knocking in a penalty kick against Boise State to help the Rebels to a 4-0 victory. She also has two assists, one of them coming late in the game against UCF to help send the game to overtime in a 2-2 draw.
“I have so much respect for her,” Hiskey said. “It’s a hard role to deal with after being basically a three year starter, but I think she’s adjusted pretty well.”
Harrison finished the 2014 season tied with Forbus for the team lead in goals with seven, including a hat trick against Minnesota that led the team to a 3-2 double overtime victory.
“Olivia’s work rate is fantastic,” Mott said. “There’s nobody that works harder than her. People may be able to match her, but no one’s going to beat her based on how much effort she puts in. She’s an important piece for us.”
Mott said he is looking for Harrison to keep up her high-energy ways for the rest of her senior season.
“We’d like for her to continue doing what she’s doing, which is be a contributor and be someone that helps us continue to play well,” Mott said.
