OXFORD — The Ole Miss women’s soccer team scored two goals in a span of 3 minutes, 20 seconds in the second half Sunday to beat No. 25 Mississippi State 2-0 In front of a record crowd of 1,857 at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
The win helped Ole Miss (11-6-1, 5-3-1 Southeastern Conference) retain the Magnolia Cup for the fifth-consecutive season. It marked the fourth time in five seasons the Rebels have defeated the Bulldogs.
largest crowd in Ole Miss Soccer Stadium history, Ole Miss (11-6-1, 5-3-1 SEC) turned things on in the second half to defeat rival No. 25 Mississippi State (9-5-2, 2-5-2 SEC) 2-0 Sunday, retaining the Magnolia Cup for the fifth-consecutive season.
CeCe Kizer scored her 13th goal of the season in the 67th minute off a breakaway. The senior beat two defenders near midfield and ran onto a pass from Sophie Dineen. She tucked the ball to the left of goalkeeper Rhylee DeCrane, who came off her line in an attempt to cut down the shooting angle.
Gabby Little scored off a chip shot a little more than three minutes later off a cross from Lonnie Mulligan. DeCrane got a hand on Little’s chip from the right side of the box, but she wasn’t able to push it over the crossbar.
The victory enabled Ole Miss to secure a spot in the SEC tournament, which will begin Sunday, Oct. 29, in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Rebels are currently tied for fifth in the league with 16 points. The top six seeds will earn a bye in the opening round.
The loss, coupled with Missouri’s 2-0 victory against Florida on Sunday, pushed MSU out of the SEC tournament with one regular-season game remaining. MSU will play host to LSU at 7 p.m. Thursday at the MSU Soccer Field needing a win to have a chance to return to the SEC tournament for the first time since 2004.
MSU had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal in the first half, and 18-10 for the match.
“We’re disappointed because I thought in both halves we outplayed them, but just not in the key areas,” MSU coach Tom Anagnost said. “In the defending quarter of the field, we made two mistakes that you just can’t make, and they capitalized on both of them.”
The Bulldogs had eight shots on target and won eight corner kicks to the Rebels’ two, but couldn’t convert. Freshman Andrea Tyrrell had the Bulldogs’ best chance off a corner kick when she headed the ball off the crossbar before heading her own rebound back to the keeper.
“We created enough to score, and we just didn’t put a ball in the net,” Anagnost said. “In both phases, we weren’t good enough, and we didn’t deserve to win. It’s just disappointing. I can’t fault our kids for how hard they played, but we have to do what we’re supposed to do where we’re supposed to do it.”
Ole Miss will wrap up the regular season at 7 p.m. Thursday when it plays host to No. 12 Vanderbilt at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. The Rebels will honor six players on Senior Day.
NOTES: The attendance of 1,857 eclipsed the previous record crowd of 1,823 in 2014 against Georgia. … Ole Miss’ streak of five years holding the Magnolia Cup is the longest either side has held the trophy that goes to the winner of the match between the state’s SEC rivals.
n Alabama 1, Georgia 1, 2OT: At Athens, Georgia, Kaley Verpaele scored off an assist from Brynn Martin in the 48th minute, but the Crimson Tide settled for a tie with the Bulldogs in their SEC match at the Turner Soccer Complex.
The result moved Alabama to 8-7-3 and 2-5-2 in the league. It is tied with MSU behind Auburn and Missouri (10 points) for the 10th and final spot for the SEC tournament.
Missouri will play at No. 18 Tennessee on Thursday. MSU didn’t play Missouri in the regular season. It lost to Auburn.
The tie moved Georgia to 4-8-5 and 1-5-3 in league play.
Alabama will take on Auburn at 8 pm. Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
“Disappointed that we weren’t able to come away with three points, especially after taking the lead early in the second half,” head coach Wes Hart says. “But I have to give Georgia credit. They played hard. They did not make it easy on us. Our focus now shifts to Auburn. It’s a huge rivalry game that our players are very much looking forward to. Our SEC Tournament hopes are still very much alive.”
n Alabama-Birmingham 2, Southern Mississippi 0: At Birmingham, Alabama, Regan Kommor and Caroline Kehrer scored goals Sunday to lift the Blazers past the Golden Eagles in a Conference USA match at BBVA Field.
The loss dropped Southern Miss to 11-4-1 and 5-3-1 in C-USA. Despite the setback, Southern Miss secured a spot in the C-USA tournament for the first time since 2007. The tournament will be Oct. 31-Nov. 4 in Norfolk, Virginia.
UAB improved to 9-6-1 and 6-3.
Southern Miss will play Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. Friday in the regular-season finale for both teams in Ruston, Louisiana.
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