Defender Maddie Friedmann (8) prepares to head the ball in the second half of the game against Missouri Friday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jessica Hiskey came up big for the Rebels on Sunday afternoon in front of her hometown crowd, providing an assist and scoring the game-winner as Ole Miss (8-5-5, 3-3-3 SEC) defeated Vanderbilt (7-9-2, 2-6-2 SEC) by a score of 2-1.
It marked the second time Hiskey has provided a boost to the Rebels in Nashville during her career as the midfielder scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory against the Commodores in her freshman campaign as well. Two of Hiskey’s six career goals have come against Vanderbilt.
With the win, the Rebels grabbed three points in the SEC standings as Ole Miss will now return home to face the Tennessee Volunteers in the final regular-season match at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ole Miss Soccer Complex.
“We were sluggish in the first half and not sharp at all,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “We challenged the team at halftime and asked what the season would come down to this year. We gave up a good goal to a great player, but rallied from a goal down with great goals from Bethany Bunker and Hiskey to pick up three points in the standings.
“We have a huge game coming up on Thursday night and want to send our senior Kelly McCormick out the right way, but it’s going to be tough against a Tennessee team that’s playing well right now. Our fans have been great and we play well with that support. We haven’t secured a spot at the SEC Tournament yet and Tennessee is looking for the same thing, so we hope to have a lot of our fans come out to support us and send Kelly out on a high note.”
Ole Miss got a good chance for a scoring opportunity in the final minute of the half when Sara Coleman sent in a dangerous serve off a corner kick, but the Vanderbilt keeper snagged it out of the air before a Rebel could get a head on it.
There was no score at the half despite the Rebels and Commodores combining for 15 shots in the first period. Ole Miss took seven shots to eight for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores broke the stalemate early in the second half when Simone Charley found the net in the 47th minute. The Vanderbilt sophomore took the ball just past midfield and dribbled through the Ole Miss defense to the top of the box and fired the straight-away shot into the net to put the home team up 1-0.
Ole Miss found an answer in the 54th minute when Hiskey played a nice ball ahead down the near sideline to Bunker. Bunker took the ball just inside the near line of the box and drilled it in behind the keeper past the near post to even the score at 1-1.
It was the first goal of the year for Bunker.
Bunker got another opportunity in the 68th minute on a ball sent in behind the defense as the junior forward got loose in the box. The Vanderbilt keeper was up to the task, smothering the ball just outside the goal before Bunker could fire off the shot.
The Rebel offense continued to pressure the Commodores with a pair of corner kicks and three shot attempts in a two-minute span starting at the 73-minute mark, but the Vanderbilt defense turned away each attempt to keep the score knotted at one goal each.
Ole Miss got another chance in the 82nd minute when Olivia Harrison was fouled just outside the top of the box to set up a free kick for the Rebels. Hiskey lined up the kick and drilled it past the wall and keeper into the goal to put Ole Miss on top 2-1.
The Rebel defense held things in check from there, turning away the Commodores through the final eight minutes of play to pick up the win and set up a crucial match with Tennessee on senior night on Thursday in Oxford.
