A new era of Ole Miss soccer has begun this season. The program appointed Molly Rouse the new head coach over the offseason, making her the third head coach in the history of the program, succeeding Matt Mott after 13 years at the helm.
With this new era comes new expectations for both Ole Miss and Rouse. Prior to her arrival in Oxford, Rouse was the head coach at Utah Tech. In the three years she spent in Utah, she led the program’s transition from Division II to Division I.
Last year, the Trailblazers had the best season in school history with a 10-6-2 record. Incidentally, this was the first winning season at the Division I level for the Trailblazers.
While the scenery may be different, the expectations remain for Rouse. So far this season, she has guided the Rebels to a 5-3-2 record and a solid start in SEC play. Following the win against LSU, the Rebels traveled to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Sept 21.
In the Rebel’s SEC road opener, they were matched up with a Commodores team that has suffered only one loss so far this season, against No. 9 South Carolina the match prior.
Additionally, the Dores had surrendered eight goals in nine games with five clean sheets. The stinginess of the Commodore defense proved to be pesky in this matchup, too, as they shut out the Rebels and nabbed a 2-0 win.
In fact, Ole Miss failed to register a shot until the second half. On the other hand, the Rebel defense proved to be stubborn. They held strong in the first half to keep it scoreless at the break.
Japanese-international goalkeeper Shu Ohba was a big part of that, making five saves in the first half.
Ultimately, Vandy found the net in the 53rd minute and the 69th minute to solidify a hard-fought win.
Determined to get back to winning ways, Ole Miss returned home to host SEC-West rival Auburn on Sept. 24. The Tigers arrived in Oxford also at 5-3-2 and entered this match off a big win against Missouri the match prior.
Ole Miss has found a new defensive identity under Rouse.
The Rebels have been playing with a much higher backline and intense pressuring from the midfield and attacker positions. This style of defending presents both pros and cons, such as winning the ball back higher up the pitch at the risk of being caught out and leaving space behind the defense.
In the first half, the system was working in full force, as the Rebel midfield and forwards were flying to the ball. Junior defender Kayla Chatman-Haggerty was a defensive stalworth for the Rebels, winning nearly all of her duels and providing solidity to the Rebel backline.
As for the attack, Ole Miss was by far the superior side in the first half. The pressing allowed them to keep the Tigers pinned deep in their half. Midfielders Aubrey Mister and Jenna Kemp put on a clinic in “pass-and-play” soccer, often leaving multiple Tigers in the rearview.
The second-half was reminiscent of the match against Vandy in which the Rebels found it harder to get on the ball and were pinned in their own half for a good portion of the half. Ohba once again showed out with another five saves, including a great stop in the 49th minute from very close range.
The two teams could not break away from each other, and both were unable to put points on the board; this hard-fought game ended in a 0-0 tie
While the attack has been slow to start SEC play, only scoring one goal in three matches, the goals are surely to come with the quality the Rebels have in the second and third phases of play.
The Rebels head to College Station on the Sept. 29 to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M at 7 p.m.
