The Ole Miss women’s soccer team (9-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) finishes a four-game road swing with matches at No. 24 Florida and Auburn this weekend, beginning with a Friday night match in Gainesville before returning home to play Georgia and Kentucky next weekend.
“We’re sitting on about six points, right about mid-table of all of the teams,” Ole Miss head coach Matt Mott said in Monday's weekly press conference. “We’re fighting for a spot to get to Orange Beach. That will continue to be our goal. We need to try and get points this next weekend. We come back home after that.”
The Gators (6-3-1, 3-1 SEC) ride a three-game winning streak, having defeated then-No. 23 Tennessee, 2-1, and Georgia, 4-1, this past weekend. Three players have scored three goals this season to lead the offensive attack, while the Florida defense has allowed 14 goals in the first 10 games of the season.
“They’re starting to roll a little bit down in Gainesville,” Mott said. “They’re a very good team, very athletic. They’re fast and can score goals. It’s going to be a tough task for us.”
Ole Miss continues on the road to Auburn for a Sunday afternoon match against the Lady Tigers. Auburn (5-6, 1-3 SEC) split its matches this past weekend with a 3-1 win against LSU and a 2-0 loss to Texas A&M. Sophomore forward Tori Ball leads the team with four goals this season.
The Rebels, who are led by juniors Mandy McCalla (10 goals, 23 points) and Rafaelle Souza (9 goals, 22 points), look to get their offense going again after scoring only two goals this past weekend against Missouri and Alabama.
Sophomore keeper Kelly McCormick rebounded from back-to-back losses to Texas A&M and Missouri, including four goals allowed against Texas A&M, with her fifth shutout of the season as part of a great defensive effort against Alabama.
“To get a shutout on the road in this league is really hard,” Mott said. “Samantha Sanders and Maddie Friedmann are really anchoring our center backs and those guys played fantastic. Jessica Hiskey played well on the left again. Those are three freshmen that grew up during that game on Friday night at Missouri and they were ready for the battle on Sunday. Maddie Cunningham is our junior that plays back there on the right side. All four of them really battled.”
This is the second straight road trip for the Lady Rebels and another that involves traveling long distances with only one day between games. McCalla doesn’t think the travel will be a distraction for the team.
“We can’t let it get to us,” McCalla said. “We have to come on the field with a fresh look on things and play our best and keep a clear head.”
Soccer continues SEC play on the road
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