Ole Miss Soccer shuts out Austin Peay for third straight win
Freshman forward CeCe Kizer started things off for the Ole Miss soccer team by scoring the game’s first goal, before later scoring the game’s fourth goal and heading to the sideline for a breather as the Rebels went on to defeat Austin Peay 5-0.
Ole Miss Soccer coach Matthew Mott felt it was only right to rest his starters with a comfortable lead on Austin Peay. Bella Fiorenzo scored the game’s final goal off an assist from middle fielder Jennifer Miller, within the final three minutes, to end the game with the five-goal win.
Since ending in a scoreless tie on the road to Florida Gulf Coast University in their season opener, the Rebels have won three straight games and it’s because of the team’s fast start in the opening minutes.
“We have been really focused when the game started,” Mott said. “I think that’s a big key for us to come out and fire on all cylinders and getting after the other teams has been a huge plus for us for sure.”
CeCe Kizer scored the first and fourth goals for the Rebels in their 5-0 win over Austin Peay on August 30, 2015 in Oxford. (Photo credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
Playing two games in three days seemed to have had little effect on Ole Miss (3-0-1) Sunday afternoon against a Governors team looking to nail their second win of the season. In the first two minutes of the game, Kizer followed a rebound off Miller’s shot to score the game’s first goal.
That was only the beginning for the Rebels’ offensive surge.
Danielle Gray made a circus play around two Austin Peay defenders and kicked a hard one to forward Addie Forbus in the middle box that landed into the right side of the net. For the season, Forbus has three goals. Gray wasn’t done setting up easy plays for her teammates.
At the 30th minute, Jessica Hiskey scored the game’s third goal off of Gray’s free kick. “Honestly, it was just one of those things that I didn’t want to lose the ball,” said Gray, who had three shots on goal to go along with her two assists. “So I was like ‘okay I got this’ and then I saw Forbus was wide open there past the keeper, so I was like ‘okay, I just need to get this ball to her and she will do the rest.’”
Heading into the locker room, Ole Miss held a 3-0 lead over the Governors, who recorded only four shot attempts and four corner kicks–a step backwards from their performance against UT-Chattanooga on Friday night. In the 1-0 win over the Lady Mocs, Austin Peay (1-2) recorded 11 shot attempts.
After the first 45 minutes, the Rebels passed the Governors’ shot attempts mark with 12 and finished the game with 24. Austin Peay’s goalkeeper Lindsey Todd kept her team alive with a game-high seven saves, but the overall performance of Ole Miss proved to be too much for the Governors to overcome.
The Rebels’ ability to start off games being the aggressors has led to a proficient showing on both sides of the ball.
Coach Mott hopes his team can keep it up. “That’s the game plan for us, just to come out hard and fast,” Mott said. “We have had good play and we have good leadership with Jessica (Hiskey) in the middle and Samantha (Sanders). Those guys are playing at a high level leading us too and that’s very important.”
Ole Miss will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 4 at home against Central Florida. The game will start at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
(Feature image credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)
