With back-to-back wins against High Point and Southern Miss this past weekend, the Rebels sit at 5-0-1 on the season, which is their best start since 2012.
The Rebels’ strong weekend began with a 5-0 shut out against High Point on Friday night.
Early in the game, the Rebels secured the lead with two early scores from Mary Kate Smith and Sophie Dineen. Left-footed, Smith struck the ball to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead. It was Dineen who sent the ball nearly 45 yards for a second goal within five minutes of Smith’s.
Throughout the game, the Rebels proved their intentions to dominate, allowing only two shots from the Panthers. Molly Martin cut one in off an assist from Gabby Little in the 80th minute. A few seconds later, Little came solo from the left side, beating the keeper and pushing the score to 4-0.
To finish off the night, junior CeCe Kizer went left-footed around the 18-yard box, closing the game to 5-0. High Point only held two shots the entire game, while Ole Miss had 21 attempts with nine on goal.
The Rebels’ offense continued to explode the field Sunday night, as it defeated Southern Miss 8-0.
Scoring started early at the 4:01 mark with Kizer making her appearance once again. Kizer beat the keeper on the far side, before the keeper received a red card. With a strong penalty kick, she put the Rebels at 1-0.
Following the penalty, Ole Miss had huge scoring opportunity, since the Golden Eagles only played 10 players the rest of the match. The second goal came at the 15th minute mark after Grace Waugh sent a cross into the box, which Julia Phillips was positioned for and took it into the back right corner.
Freshman Channing Foster, who has found the back of the goal three times, flicked it into a free net to seal a 3-0 lead. Foster managed to get a second goal in the 50th minute after heading a shot off a Kizer assist. Within six minutes, senior captain Bella Fiorenzo switched a penalty kick resulting from a Golden Eagle Foul, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Hitting the left post, Foster finished off in the 60th minute, and the deflection snuck through for the score. Freshman Molly Martin received credit for the assist, making it her first of the year.
Another freshman showing out on the field Sunday night was Alley Houghton. She rallied her second goal of the season in the 79th minute after beating a Southern Miss defender in the corner and having her way with the backup keeper for a punch into the left corner.
To lock the score, junior Marisa Kutchma buried a cross from Mary Kate Smith to close the game at 8-0.
Offensively, Ole Miss accounted for 33 shot attempts, with 13 on goal. The Rebel defense only faced four Southern Miss shots, with saves from Marnie Merritt and Claire Williams.
Attendance for Sunday’s game was 1,052, making it the largest this year and the 19th largest in program history. Next weekend, the Rebels will head to the Memphis Tournament, which will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday versus Tulsa, followed by a game against the Tigers at 7 p.m. Sunday.
