Sept. 27, 2012

Game Notes

OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss soccer team continues Southeastern Conference play on the road this weekend as the Rebels (9-2, 2-2 SEC) travel to face No. 24 Florida and Auburn in a pair of conference matchups this weekend.

For the third straight weekend, the Rebels will take on a team ranked nationally with a 6 p.m. CT showdown with Florida (6-3-1, 3-1 SEC) on Friday night before taking on Auburn (5-6-0, 1-3 SEC) at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"This weekend it doesn't get any easier," said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. "We head to Gainesville to play Florida who is coming off of two wins on the weekend over Tennessee and Georgia. They're starting to roll a little bit down in Gainesville. They're a very good team, very athletic. They're fast and can score goals. They're really rounding into form. It's going to be a tough task for us.

"We play Auburn on Sunday who just split on the weekend," Mott said. "They beat LSU on the road and lost to Texas A&M 2-0. I'm happy with the team and where we are. We're 2-2 in the SEC right now. We're sitting on about six points, right about mid-table of all of the teams. We're fighting for a spot to get to Orange Beach. That will continue to be our goal. We need to try and get points this next weekend."

The Rebels enter the weekend coming off a pair of weekend splits in the first two weekends of SEC play with wins over Arkansas and Alabama, while falling to then No. 10 Texas A&M and then No. 16 Missouri, both undefeated in conference play.

Ole Miss puts a balanced offense on the field with 10 different players having scored goals this season. Leading the way is a pair of juniors in Mandy McCalla and Rafaelle Souza. McCalla leads the Southeastern Conference with 10 goals and 23 points this season, while Souza is second in the league with nine goals and 22 points on the year.

Ole Miss has scored 32 goals this season, while allowing only 10 goals.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly McCormick has been a big part of the Rebels defense limiting opponents opportunities as McCormick and the Rebel defense have posted five shutout victories on the season. The performances have earned two SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for McCormick.

The Florida Gators enter the weekend having moved back into the national rankings after a pair of wins over Tennessee and Georgia last weekend. Florida is currently ranked 24th in the NSCAA poll.

The Gators have scored 19 goals on the season from nine different players. Mckenzy Barney, Holly King and Havana Solaun all have three goals each. The Gators have outshot opponents 136-to-96 on the year, allowing 14 goals. Florida has won three straight heading into the weekend with wins over Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia.