It’s been a tough stretch for the Rebels. After starting SEC play with three wins, the former top-25 team has dropped five-straight and scored just two goals in the month of October.
Thursday’s game was no different. The Bulldogs controlled the ball and pressed the Rebels hard all night as they recorded 18 shots as opposed to just seven from Ole Miss. Goalkeeper Ashley Orkus was instrumental in keeping the game competitive. Her five saves (all of which shut down quality opportunities) probably made her the player of the game as she faced constant battering from the opposition.
Discipline was an issue as well. Ole Miss was called for 14 fouls, one offside penalty and gave up five corners, meaning that UGA had a shocking 20 set pieces. That is quite simply too many chances. Giving the opposition 20 tries to set up and play an undefended ball into the box is too dangerous to win with.
Though the defense in general only broke once, these are the kinds of chances that must be cut down to maintain possession and generate an offensive pulse. Despite all the fouls, there was only one card issued as Kayla Chatman-Haggerty received a yellow card in the 73rd minute.
Though the goal came in the second half, that was actually the better half of soccer from the Rebs. They registered six of their seven shots and only gave five fouls, as opposed to the nine in the first half.
But once again, Ole Miss needs to fix their offensive problems. The Rebels have scored more than one goal just once in their SEC schedule, despite starting off the season averaging four goals a game. Their five-game skid has been a true fall from grace.
After being undefeated through 11 games and holding a national ranking of 13, it has been a sharp downhill turn. Tennessee marked the team’s first loss, and they haven’t been able to rebound yet. Now, with just two games left, it will take a strong push to finish out the season well and make the national tournament.
Next week, the Rebels play their final home game against Arkansas. This will be a tough task, as the Razorbacks are 10-3-2 and have a strong .714 winning percentage in the conference. Arkansas has allowed just one goal in their past seven games, meaning that the struggling offense will need to come alive if they want to pull a win from this match.
