Nov. 27, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. - Matthew Mott, head soccer coach at Ole Miss, received a contract extension through the 2016 season the Ole Miss Athletics Department announced on Tuesday.

Mott recently completed his third season at the helm of the Rebel program and led Ole Miss to the Southeastern Conference tournament where the Rebels advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Florida 2-1 on a goal in the final 90 seconds of regulation.

"The soccer program under Coach Mott's leadership is right where we both wanted it to be," said Lynnette Johnson, Executive Athletics Director. "The team has grown tremendously in the last three years. Matt has great energy, and his experienced staff of Becky Fletcher and Rob Thompson are building a program that will compete for and win championships. Matt and his staff are recruiting talented soccer players on the field of play and very solid academically in the classroom."

"I really appreciate the support of Ross Bjork, Lynnette Johnson and our entire Athletic administration," Mott said. "My staff and I are extremely committed to graduating our student-athletes while continuing to build a soccer program that will compete for championships and make the Rebel Nation proud. There is a tremendous level of energy within the Ole Miss Athletic department and we are very excited to be a part of it."

The Rebels posted 13 wins on the year for the third-straight season of improvement and finished two wins shy of the school record of 15 wins set in 2003. Ole Miss also posted the best start to a season this year with eight consecutive victories to open the season.

The Rebels posted eight shutout victories, including shutout wins over Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss also produced a pair of All-SEC selections in Mandy McCalla and Rafaelle Souza as the pair led the league in goals and points this season. Both players tallied 13 goals and 33 points on the year to pace the conference.

In addition to the performance on the field, the Rebels have been succeeding academically under the direction of Mott. Ole Miss claimed the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award this year for the third straight time under Mott. Souza was also named the SEC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year and a Capital One Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA.

Souza is up for Capital One Academic All-America honors by virtue of being selected as an All-District selection.

Fan support for Rebel soccer has also continued to grow under Mott's leadership with three of the top 10 crowds in program history coming this season. Ole Miss saw 1,363 fans show up for the Rebels' conference opener against Arkansas - the fourth largest crowd in school history. A total of 1,311 fans crowded into the soccer stadium for the season opener against Saint Louis, while 1,273 fans showed up to watch Ole Miss shut out Texas Tech 2-0.

Five of the top 10 crowds in school history have come in the last two seasons under Mott's leadership.