Souza Notched Two Goals, Harrison Adds Third On Corner
OXFORD, Miss. – It was “Kickin’ Cancer” night at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium and the Rebels wasted no time kicking the offense in gear as Rafaelle Souza notched a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of the match to help Ole Miss (8-1-1) pick up a 3-0 win over UALR (3-6-0) on Sunday.
The Rebels, who wore teal jerseys and partnered with Baptist Hospital North Mississippi to raise awareness and funds in the fight against ovarian cancer, scored three goals on the afternoon and saw lots of players get playing time in the final non-conference match of the regular season.
“It was our goal to score early and be able to get a lot of players in the match and get them some time on the field,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “A lot of our starters played a full 90 minutes on Friday night in the win at Arkansas, so it was good to get home and get the early lead so we could get some more players some minutes.
“We step back into conference play next weekend and will begin work on that Monday morning,” Mott said. “It will be nice to be at home, but it’s against two teams who are traditionally better teams in the conference. Certainly, what Florida has done is widely known and they have really set the standard for the conference and Auburn has been up there in the top half of the league over the years. It will be a tough weekend for us, but one we’re looking forward to playing.”
Souza picked up against the Trojans where she left off against the Razorbacks on Friday night. After scoring two goals in the final 15 minutes of the match at Arkansas, the senior forward notched two more against UALR on Sunday.
Souza buried her first goal in the seventh minute when Bethany Bunker dribbled the ball in on the near side of the box and sent the ball in to Souza in the middle of the box. The senior lined up her shot and buried it in the net to put the Rebels on the board.
She followed it up minutes later when Mandy McCalla sent the ball forward to Souza on the far top corner of the six-yard box and Souza again sent the ball past the keeper for the Rebels’ second goal of the afternoon.
Ole Miss added its third goal in the 18th minute off a corner kick from Olivia Harrison. Harrison, who notched her third goal of the season, bent the ball in from the far side where it kicked off the hands of the Trojan keeper and into the goal to give the Rebels the 3-0 lead.
That lead would hold for the duration despite the Rebels’ continuing to press the offense while substituting liberally from the bench throughout the match. Ole Miss posted 17 shots to only one from UALR on the afternoon, with nine of those shots on goal.
The Rebels will return to action on Friday, hosting No. 8 Florida at 7 p.m. at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Ole Miss will then continue to play at home with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday against the Auburn Tigers. Admission for both matches is free to the public.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
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