Ole Miss suffered its first loss of the 2016 season on Friday night, falling to Memphis 2-1.
Memphis teammates celebrate at the end of the game Friday night. Memphis gave Ole Miss their first loss of the season in a physical 2-1 game.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth at the start of the game with two quick goals,” Coach Matt Mott said. “But I thought we responded well and created enough chances. We just needed to be cleaner in front of the goal.”
The Tigers set the tone for the first half of the game. Freshman forward Serena Dolan scored 11 minutes into the first half and sophomore forward Marie Levasseur followed three minutes later with another successful shot on goal.
The ball remained on the Rebels’ defensive side most of the first half and the Tigers would take as 2-0 lead into the break, but Ole Miss continued to fight with six shots, four of which were on goal in the first 45 minutes.
“We did a lot of things wrong going into halftime, but we were still in the game and just needed to get some shots that actually hit the net,” Coach Mott said.
Both undefeated teams upped their aggressiveness in the second half, and it showed with 21 fouls from Memphis and the ten fouls Ole Miss totaled in the game.
“We had a lot of chances to score against Memphis, but we just couldn’t put them away,” senior forward Addie Forbus said. “I think the positive takeaway is that we created those chances throughout the game.”
Although the first half was dominated mostly by the Tigers, Ole Miss took control of the game in the second half shutting out Memphis. The Rebels ultimately took 13 shots, nine of which were shots on goals, while the Tigers took four shots, three of those being shots on goal. Ole Miss just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.
“We know soccer is a 90 minute game so after halftime we regrouped and were determined to come out on the front foot,” Forbus said.
Addie Forbus and Gretchen Harknett celebrate after scoring in the second half of the Ole Miss v Memphis game. Despite shutting out the Tigers in the second half, the Rebels suffered their first lost of the season.
27 minutes into the second half, Forbus scored on a penalty kick putting the Rebels on the board after their tough opening half. It wasn’t enough though as this was ultimately the last goal of the game andMemphis held on.
Ole Miss has a quick turnaround as it faces Libscomb on Sunday. Forbus and the rest of the team are looking forward to putting this loss behind them.
“We can’t let this game beat us twice,” Forbus said. “Going into the game against Lipscomb on Sunday, we have to focus on the now instead of the loss against Memphis.”
Lipscomb, who defeated Mississippi State 1-0 Friday night, will be taking on Ole Miss at 6 p.m. on Sunday as the Rebels look to get back on track.
