Ole Miss is six games into the season, and if you had told anyone three weeks ago that a roster full of newcomers and a first‑year head coach would be sitting at 5‑1, they would have taken it without blinking.
It’s not perfect. It hasn’t always been pretty. But for a team still figuring out who it is, 5‑1 is a good place to be.
Todd Shulenberger didn’t try to dress it up. He knows the record is solid, and he also knows the Rebels haven’t played their best soccer yet.
“I mean, we’re 5‑1. We’ll take it,” he said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “Obviously, as a coach and competitor, you’d like to have a clean sheet and be 6‑0, but we’re not. We’re 5‑1 with a couple of good shutouts.”
The Memphis match still sticks with him. Ole Miss gave up two goals in the first eleven minutes, and Shulenberger didn’t hide how much that bothered him. But he also saw something in the way the Rebels fought back, and that matters for a team still learning how to handle different game states.
“Our girls have to understand that most of the year we’re going to be the hunter, but when Memphis came in, they were down a little bit, so we were getting hunted,” Shulenberger said. “There’s a difference, and we couldn’t handle it for the first 11 minutes and gave up two goals. We fought back, and you’ve got to love that.”
That’s the balance Ole Miss is still trying to master. And now they have two more chances to work on it before SEC play starts. Two home games and opportunities to tighten the details, sharpen the finishing and get healthier before Mississippi State comes to town.
Shulenberger knows exactly what he wants to see.
“I’d like to see some shutouts. I’d like to see some wins,” he said. “Again, I think our possession could be better in front of goal. I think the opportunities we’re creating are there, and now we just have to do more with them.”
Set pieces have been a sore spot. Finishing has been inconsistent. Possession in the final third needs to be cleaner. None of that is surprising for a team with so many new faces, but these next two matches give Ole Miss a chance to fix things without the pressure of the SEC standings hanging over them.
And when conference play begins, Shulenberger doesn’t plan to reinvent anything.
“We are who we are right now, and we’re going to be the team we want to be,” Shulenberger said. “Will we change some things to adapt defensively? Yeah. But offensively, this is who we’re going to be, and we’re going to keep going.”
The Rebels also get the benefit of playing at home twice more before the rivalry match. The crowds have been steady, and Shulenberger wants that to continue, especially with a strong South Alabama team coming in.
“We had a good little turnout for the game Thursday,” he said. “Obviously, women’s college soccer on Sundays can be tough. It’s hot and it’s a midday game, but we’re going to continue to push for that Thursday night crowd.”
So here Ole Miss sits: 5‑1, imperfect, still growing, still learning, still figuring out how to play with urgency and composure at the same time.
But for a team with a new coach, a rebuilt roster and an SEC opener against Mississippi State looming, this is exactly where you want to be.
