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No. 22 Ole Miss Coasts Past Alabama on Soccer Field
Oct. 17, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - On the eve of their football matchup, Ole Miss and Alabama tangled on the soccer field Friday night, in what was a comfortable 3-1 victory for the 22nd-ranked Rebels. Ole Miss, the SEC Western Division leader, continues its best season ever with a 13-2 record, 4-1 in league play. Erin Edmundson's first goal of the year would supply the Rebels an early lead at the 14:20 mark. The senior midfielder was set up five yards in front after good passing from Kaela Kelly and Brittney Potts. Freshman Emily Brown increased the Ole Miss halftime advantage to 2-0 after netting her fifth goal of the season in the 38th minute. Brown, who was celebrating her 19th birthday, took a Tide player's deflection of her own shot and ripped it to the far post from eight yards out. Junior Lindley Beckman secured the Rebels' third straight victory over Alabama with a nine-yard score in the 52nd minute. Off a Kristal Menard corner kick, Beckman slid a shot under the keeper for her second goal of 2003. The Tide posted their lone goal with under four minutes remaining, as Elizabeth Jannik pushed the ball across the endline out of a crowd in front of the net. Alabama remains winless in conference play at 0-4-1 and drops to 7-7-1 overall. Senior goalkeeper Brittany Gillespie collected four saves for Ole Miss, who finished with a 19-10 edge on shots. "Alabama is always competitive when they come to play us," said Rebel head coach Steve Holeman. "We've had a great rivalry with them, and to win is always great for us. "We played awesome defensively tonight. We hated to give up that goal in the last five minutes of the game, but we're definitely happy with the win. We attacked well, possessed well and once we solved their pressure and got into a rhythm, we played some of our best soccer." The top two teams in the SEC West face off Sunday as Ole Miss hosts second-place Auburn (9-2-3, 2-1-2 SEC) at 1 p.m. CT. The 17th-ranked Tigers held off Mississippi State, 1-0, Friday in Starkville. "I think if we had lost to Alabama, it would have been a must win situation on Sunday," Holeman said. "Going in at 4-1 gives us a lot of confidence, and we know what's ahead of us. We know Auburn is the team to beat in the SEC West, and we know it could easily come down to us versus them for the championship. It's been one of our goals for three years now to get that Western Division title back, and we have the opportunity to take a step towards doing just that on Sunday."
Alabama (7-7-1, 0-4-1 SEC) vs. #22 Ole Miss (13-2-0, 4-1-0 SEC) Date: Oct 17, 2003 Attendance: 937 Weather: Mostly cloudy and cool ------------------------------- Alabama...... 0 1 - 1 Ole Miss..... 2 1 - 3 |
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