Ole Miss (11-2-2, 6-1-0 SEC) took an early lead and held on until the end during Sunday afternoon’s match against Vanderbilt (6-7-2, 3-3-1 SEC) at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, clinching their fourth consecutive SEC win.
The Rebels set the tone in the 7th minute of the match when senior midfielder Molly Martin was able to get around her defender by slipping a sly ball between her legs. Martin then made an easy pass to senior midfielder Haleigh Stackpole directly in front of the goal. Stackpole one-touched it into the back of the net, putting the Rebels up 1-0 and securing her fourth goal of the season.
The Commodores stayed persistent, outshooting the Rebels 19-5, but with only five shots on goal, they were no match for the strong Rebel defense. In the 22nd minute, the Commodores came close to equalizing, but the Rebels had some help from the right post.
In the 30th minute, Stackpole took a corner and found Martin alone at the far post, but Martin’s header was a bit high. Ole Miss went into halftime leading a talented Vanderbilt team 1-0.
The Rebels came into the second half ready to roll. Stackpole sent senior forward Channing Foster a nice through ball, but the Commodore keeper was able to block her attempt to put the Rebels on the board for the second time.
The Commodores thought they equalized the contest in the 68th minute, but an offsides flag helped the Rebels to keep their 1-0 lead and hold on to it until the end, recording back-to-back shutouts.
Ole Miss will be searching for their fifth straight win on Thursday at 6 p.m. as they travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers. The match will be streamed on SEC Network +.
