TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Freshman Gretchen Harknett notched her first goal of the season, but the Rebels couldn’t complete a second half rally as No. 22 Ole Miss (16-6-2) saw its season come to an end with a 3-1 loss to No. 3 Florida State (20-1-3) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night.
The loss to the Seminoles, the top-seed in the region, ended a record season for the Rebels who set a new mark for wins in a season and saw a pair of Rebels take over the top spot of career stat lists along the way. Senior forward Rafaelle Souza became the school’s all-time leading goal scorer with 44, while junior goalkeeper Kelly McCormick became the school’s all-time win leader with 34 for her career after the 16-win campaign in 2013.
It marks the second time in the history of the program for the Rebels to advance past the first round in the NCAA Tournament through five appearances all-time.
“I’m really proud of the effort we put in; I felt we created some chances early, but in the end we didn’t create enough,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “We worked extremely hard to put ourselves in a good spot early in the game and just couldn’t get our first goal fast enough. I’m really happy with the way our kids battled and our energy and we just left it all out there on the field tonight.
“This is a big step for our program. We owe a lot to our senior class that has carried us all year. It’s just unfortunate that our season doesn’t move on. I wish Florida State nothing but the best.”
