FRIDAY: OLE MISS 2, ARKANSAS 1 (SID)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Olivia Harrison and Rafaelle Souza found a rhythm late for the Rebels, connecting twice in the final 15 minutes of the match to help give Ole Miss (7-1-1) a 2-1 victory on the road at Arkansas (7-2-0) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Souza now leads the Rebels with nine goals on the season, while Harrison holds the team lead with five assists to pace a balanced offensive attack.
It was the first home loss of the season for Arkansas.
“It’s huge to pick up a win tonight,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “Road wins are so important and start conference play on the right foot was big. To come back after falling behind on the road just says a lot about the character of this team.
“We did a good job of passing the ball and moving it around,” Mott said. “Olivia found two good spots and the Rafa did what she does and put the ball in the net. Our back line did a really good job against a tough front line that has been scoring a lot of goals for Arkansas.”
The Rebels wasted no time in attacking the Razorbacks, notching a shot and a trio of corner kicks three minutes into the match. The two teams then settled into a rhythm after the early Ole Miss assault, but neither team could capitalize.
Ole Miss posted three shots on goal and looked to have scored on the first, but the goal from Souza was waved off as she was deemed off-sides following a deflection prior to her shot that went into the net. The Rebels took the ball into the box and Harrison took a shot that was deflected by the keeper, Souza gathered the ball and put it back into the net, but it was ruled no goal.
After the first half, the Rebels held three shots on goal and four corners, while the Razorbacks had not notched a shot on goal in the first period.
Arkansas got on the board and took the 1-0 lead in the 61st minute when a corner kick was sent back out to the far side and then sent back into the box. It was lost in the chaos and Allie Tripp put the ball in the net to give the Razorbacks the lead.
Ole Miss got a pair of chances to answer a few minutes later with corner kicks that provided solid scoring opportunities, but one shot was blocked and the other sailed high as Souza almost bent it in from the near side.
The Rebels finally tied the match with a goal from Souza in the 76th minute, Mandy McCalla took a shot that was saved by the fingertips of the Razorback goalkeeper. Ole Miss gathered the deflection and sent it back into the box where Olivia Harrison tapped it to Souza near the penalty hash and the senior buried the shot.
Ole Miss took the lead in the 85th minute when Harrison and Souza connected again, this time from the far side, to give the Rebels the 2-1 lead on the Razorbacks.
The Rebels held on down the stretch while continuing to press the ball on the Arkansas half of the field to pick up the 2-1 win.
SUNDAY: OLE MISS 3, ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK 0
The Rebels closed out their nonconference schedule in dominating fashion, defeating the University of Arkansas-Little Rock 3-0 on Sunday.
Sunday’s match was the latter half of a two-game sweep of Arkansas-based teams, after a 2-1 comeback victory over the University of Arkansas Friday in Fayetteville gave the Rebels a victory in their conference opener.
Ole Miss forward Rafaelle Souza had a short but efficient night on Sunday, scoring two goals in the first 9:22 and bringing her total to 11 goals on the season. Souza subbed out shortly after her two goals, and was done for the night. As usual, Souza emphasized her team-first attitude, saying only that she was happy to help her team win, and that she was looking forward to the team’s second conference match of the season against Florida.
Shortly after Souza called it a night, sophomore forward/midfielder Olivia Harrison scored the final goal of the contest, her third of the season, on a corner kick that deflected in off of UALR goal keeper Sara Cavanagh.
Head coach Matt Mott was happy with his team’s effort and noted how he was happy to be able to rest many of his starters.
“Most of the starters on Friday night played 90 minutes,” Mott said. “Our goal was to get a lead in the first half.”
The Rebels certainly did that and more, putting the game out of reach less than 20 minutes in and holding Arkansas-Little Rock to only one shot on goal the entire match. Nearly every player on the Rebels’ roster saw action on Sunday night.
After what amounted to little more than a tune-up match, Mott provided some insight on the outlook of the team heading into Friday’s match against perennial SEC powerhouse Florida:
“I feel like we’re in a better spot than we’ve ever been since I’ve been here,” Mott said. “The players approach the game professionally. (Florida) is number one in the region and ranked nationally, but our leadership is great.
“Our seniors now have played Florida four times and have really been in the trenches.”
Florida, last year’s regular season and SEC tournament champion, brings a 7-1-1 overall record and 1-0 SEC record to Oxford on Friday night. Ole Miss (8-1-1, 1-0 SEC) will be looking to continue its winning ways and pull off the upset against the reigning champs. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Ole Miss Soccer Complex.
Ole Miss Sports Information contributed to this report.
