Oxford, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebels were victorious against Middle Tennessee State University Sunday at the Ole Miss soccer stadium, winning 4-0 with goals from four different Rebels.
After a shutout win at Austin Peay on Friday the Rebels returned to Oxford. Sophomore Georgia Russell scored her fist goal in her college career; with goals from Addie Forbus, Jennifer Miller and Gretchen Harknett the Rebels had no problem defeating the Blue Raiders.
“We spread the ball around a lot and got the ball to Addie (Forbus) in some good spots,” head coach Matthew Mott said. “Georgia (Russell) came off the bench and scored a good goal for us. Gretchen (Harknett) has been good all year and we’re happy she got on the board. Hopefully that will be the start of her scoring some goals for us.”
“It was a good match for us all around and a good weekend before jumping into the heart of Southeastern Conference play next weekend.”
Forbus opened up the scoring for the Rebels in the 18th minute on a cross from Harknett that Forbus easily put in the back of the net.
The Rebels just one goal wanted to cushion their lead and the Rebels had plenty of opportunities to do that throughout the game. The Rebels then capitalized scoring two goals in the last minute of the first half.
The first of the two was Russell’s first goal of her collegiate career. Forbus had a one on one chance that the Blue Raider goalkeeper blocked; the deflection came straight to Russell’s feet for a clear shot past the goalkeeper.
“There was nobody up there besides me and Addie [Forbus] so I just decided to take a shot,” sophomore Georgia Russell said.
Miller’s goal only seconds later came off an assist from sophomore Sara Coleman. Coleman took the ball from Blue Raider defenders forcing the goalkeeper to pressure her, which was unsuccessful. Coleman passed to Miller for a wide-open shot on goal. Giving the Rebels a 3-0 lead just before halftime.
The second half was filled with chances for the Rebels and was mostly one sided in favor of the Rebels. They held the Blue Raiders to very few chances in the second half.
Despite many chances, the Rebels struggled to find the net until the 81st minute on a penalty kick. Coleman again was dribbling in the box from the right side when she was taken down from behind for a penalty kick. Harknett stepped up for the kick and buried the ball in the left side of the net giving the Blue raider goalkeeper no chance to save it.
“We got to spent some time in practice on finishing for sure,” Mott said “We’re doing a good job creating chances and now we got to find the back of the net.”
The Rebels return to the field Friday in Starkville against Mississippi State for the Magnolia Cup. The game will also be televised on the SEC Network.
