OXFORD — Matthew Mott has coached long enough to know the old adage “a year older, a year more mature” doesn’t always translate into success.
But the likelihood for positive results increases exponentially when you add a talented class of newcomers and have a redshirt goalkeeper step in to replace the program’s all-time leader in wins and saves.
That’s the combination Mott has shuffled this season to produce what is shaping up to be the best season in the Ole Miss women’s soccer team’s history.
“Last year, we hit the crossbar and we didn’t get the bounces, but this year we are,” said Mott, who is in his sixth season as the school’s head coach. “But we are making our own luck, too. We are playing at a higher level. The guys are a year older, and I think the senior class is really motivated and they are carrying us.”
Entering its regular-season finale against Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. Thursday, Ole Miss (13-3-2, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) is riding a five-game winning streak after a 4-3 victory against No. 19 Texas A&M on Sunday in College Station, Texas. The win snapped the Aggies’ 17-game home unbeaten streak that dated back to last season.
Freshman forward CeCe Kizer, who is from Overland Park, Kansas, scored two goals in a two-minute span to help Ole Miss rally past Texas A&M. She also had a goal Friday in a 2-0 victory at Tennessee. Junior Addie Forbus, of Amory, added a goal and two assists against Texas A&M.
The wins helped Ole Miss, which was No. 13 in last week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, move to No. 12, its highest ranking in program history, in this week’s poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon.
Ole Miss is riding high at the right time. The Rebels have secured at least the No. 3 seed for the SEC tournament, which will begin Monday, Nov. 2, in Orange Beach, Alabama. Ole Miss, which was picked 10th in the SEC preseason poll, is one point behind league leaders Florida and Missouri with one regular-season game remaining. The total of seven league wins is the program’s second-highest mark in history.
Mott’s squad has orchestrated the impressive run thanks to the return of 10 starters from a 2014 squad that went 8-6-5 last season. Goalkeeper Kelly McCormick was the only senior on the team a year ago. She ended her career as the program’s all-time leader in wins (42), saves (297), and minutes played in goal (6,839). She also tied for first in shutout victories (22).
Mott said the continued emergence of Forbus, a 5-foot-7 forward, has given Ole Miss a high-scoring attacking tandem. Forbus is second on the team with 11 goals and second in points (28).
A six-year starter at Amory High School, Forbus was named her team’s offensive MVP all six seasons. She scored a state-record 231 goals in high school, including a single-season mark of 52 as a junior. Mott said Forbus has evolved as a goal scorer and has a better understanding of how to read defenses and to perform at a higher level tactically. He said Forbus’ improved passing percentage (around 80 percent) has worked well with Kizer’s ability to be in the right spot at the right time. Passing percentage is a statistic that charts completed passes to teammates.
“She is helping herself as well as helping the team with the way she passing,” Mott said. “She is doing it at important times for us.”
Mott said Kizer, who originally was recruited to play center back, and a talented group of newcomers bolstered an experienced returning cast that includes senior defender Jessica Hiskey and junior midfielder Gretchen Harknett. Hiskey, who shared SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week, leads the team in minutes (1,656), while Harknett leads the team with seven assists. She also had four goals for 15 points.
“I think the three of them (Forbus, Kizer, and Harknett) have really clicked,” Mott said. “Early on in the season you saw it, and Gretchen and Addie had a really good spring together. They play club together, so they are teammates. Addie has stepped to the level we kind of knew we had in her. As a junior, she has been great.”
But Mott is quick to praise the efforts of Marnie Merritt, who has emerged as an anchor in goal. She has 70 saves and 6.1 shutouts, while Kizer is the only freshman in the league who has been SEC Freshman of the Week more than once this season. She leads the team with 14 goals and 29 points. Kizer’s 14 goals are the third-most by a freshman in school history, and the eighth most by any Rebel in a season. Kizer has been a key factor in the Rebels winning eight of their last nine games, including the current season-high five-game winning streak.
The duo of Forbus and Kizer has brought back memories of the tandem of Rafaelle Souza and Mandy McCalla from the 2013 season. Souza (22 goals, 50 points) and McCalla combined to score 37 goals and 80 points to lead Ole Miss to a 16-6-2 finish and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Ole Miss scored 63 goals in 2013. This season, the Rebels have scored 40, but Mott knows that mark is in sight because this team has plenty of soccer left to play. He said he knew from the way the team played in a 4-1 loss to Florida on Sept. 18 in Gainesville, Florida, that great things were ahead. He knew then the Rebels had the ability to score, but the defensive effort he saw for the first three-quarters of that match gave him confidence great results could follow. Now Ole Miss is looking forward to making more history.
“The team is dialed in,” Mott said, referring to a team meeting he had with the players prior to the match against Tennessee. “They want to win and leave their mark. They’re not overlooking anybody or anything. There is no confidence in this team that they just have to show up. They’re going to bring it every time.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
