Kizer’s goal in overtime leads Rebels past UALR
Ole Miss freshman sensation CeCe Kizer shot the game-winning goal 10-yards out from the right side of the box into the upper left side of the net to give Ole Miss a 1-0 win over Arkansas-Little Rock in overtime Sunday evening.
Freshman CeCe Kizer is interviewed after her overtime goal gave the Rebels the win over UALR. (Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)
Kizer’s goal was her sixth of the season, which leads the team. After the golden goal, her teammates rushed onto the field to give her a celebration hug. “That was crazy,” Kizer said about the celebration.
I have been through high school and I have scored goals like that before, but never had a team mob me like that, so it’s like really special. — CeCe Kizer
Ole Miss (4-0-2) was in a similar situation on Friday night against No. 19 Central Florida, trading shot attempts and saves, but the game ended in a 2-2 tie after two overtimes.
In the Rebels’ first three wins this season, Ole Miss had scored at least one goal in the first half, but that wasn’t the case against the Trojans (3-3), who were coming off a 1-0 win over in-state rival Central Arkansas on Wednesday night.
The Rebels couldn’t quite find the offensive rhythm the first 10 minutes of the game that they are accustomed to. Ole Miss missed a number of opportunities to score a goal and each time the Rebels failed to capitalize on a scoring opportunity, Mott placed both of his hands on his hips, then clapped his hands for encouragement to his team.
The Rebels recorded 30 shot attempts and 13 corner kicks.
“The way we were able to attack was really good,” Mott said of his team–which is undefeated through the first two weekends of the season for the fourth time in six years under Mott. “We didn’t change anything out of halftime, because the last 15-20 minutes we were on them pretty good. So because of that, we just kind of stayed with a plan and it worked, certainly.”
The Trojans’ goalkeeper, Sara Small, was the reason for some of Ole Miss’ frustration on offense as she was catching nearly every shot attempt that was coming her way. Small finished with a game-high 13 saves. In Arkansas-Little Rock’s first five games, Small recorded 15 saves.
This one was scoreless heading into the second half and Mott was hopeful for a more productive offensive showing than what he witnessed early on in the game.
“It was a heated halftime I think, because I felt like we did a lot of things well, but we weren’t clean enough in front of goal and we have to be cleaner and we have to take those chances better,” Mott said. “So, I let them know it wasn’t good enough and I think they responded and came out again in the second half playing really hard, we just couldn’t break them down.”
The Rebels return to the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium Friday evening to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.
