Channing Foster dribbles the ball downfield during a game against Georgia. File photo by Wilson Benton
The Ole Miss soccer team will enter their neutral site match against Long Beach State in Dallas this weekend with a head of steam.
Ole Miss has won four matches in a row, sweeping their two matches in the Rebel Classic and winning two hard-fought matches against Western Kentucky and Murray State last weekend in Kentucky.
Ole Miss started their tour of the Bluegrass state with a double overtime thriller against Western Kentucky. The Lady Toppers committed a penalty in the box during the second overtime, allowing Channing Foster to bury a penalty for the win.
Ashley Orkus needed five saves to record her third shutout for the Rebels on the season.
Next, the Rebels faced Murray State, the reigning OVC champions who only lost one game at home last season. Ole Miss started the game slow, going down 0-2, but tied the game at 3-3 going into halftime. The Rebels came out strong in the second half and were able to finish the game winning 5-4.
“I was just really proud of the way that the players continued to keep their composure in a very physical game,” associate head coach Rob Thompson said.
Foster is the leading scorer for the Rebels this season with five total goals, scoring in four of the six matches this season. Julia Phillips recorded her first ever multi-goal game against Murray State giving her three this season.
The team is looking to show the same grit to keep the momentum going into these next few games against tough opponents. They’ll face a team from California in the regular season for the first time since 2010.
“It’s definitely going to be good competition this weekend and traveling is difficult but I think we’ve shown this past weekend that we can come out with good results when we do travel,” junior forward Madisyn Pezzino said. “We just prepare ourselves for each and every game and we’ll be good to go.”
Offensively, the Rebels do not stop attacking the goal, and that is how they have been so successful. The offense will need to take advantage of Long Beach State goalkeeper Marta Almany to beat the 2018 Big West regular season and tournament champions.
“It shows the character of the team and how individually we all come together offensively,” Pezzino said. “It’s just exciting to see all of that.”
The Rebels’ match against Long Beach State at SMU kicks off at 4 p.m on Thursday. They’ll return to Oxford to take on South Alabama at 1 p.m on Sunday.
