Ole Miss spent most of Sunday afternoon doing the things you want to see from a team trying to climb out of an SEC skid.
The Rebels created chances, pushed the tempo, won corners and kept pressure on Texas. What they didn’t do was finish, and that was the difference in a 2-0 loss at Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
Texas struck almost immediately. The Longhorns scored just 70 seconds into the match when Ashlyn Anderson slipped in her third goal of the season off a feed from Alicia Riggins.
That early punch forced Ole Miss to settle in fast, and to its credit, the response came quickly. The Rebels put together a five-minute stretch where Teaghan Irvin, Sarah Granno and Maizy Kluksdal all forced Bayliss Flynn into saves.
Ole Miss kept pushing through the rest of the half and finished with a 9-6 edge in shots. Jenna Studer, Isabella Pontieri and Ryann Reynolds all had looks, but the Rebels still went into halftime down 1-0.
The second half brought more of the same. Ava Ghoreishi put a shot on frame in the 54th minute, but Flynn was there again. Texas doubled its lead seven minutes later when Ava McDonald finished off a pass from Vivian Geesbreght to make it 2-0.
Ole Miss didn’t fold after the second goal.
The Rebels earned four corner kicks over the final 25 minutes and kept Texas under pressure. Bella Leonard delivered the last shot on target in the 81st minute, but Flynn made her fifth save to lock down the shutout.
The stat sheet shows how close the match actually was. Ole Miss finished with a 16-13 advantage in shots and a 7-4 edge in corners.
Both teams put five attempts on goal. Granno led the Rebels with three shots, while Evie Ewing, Ghoreishi and Reynolds each had two.
Taylor Prigge played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with three saves.
Ole Miss heads back on the road Friday for a trip to Alabama. Kickoff in Tuscaloosa is set for 7 p.m.
