Soccer Tops WKU 1-0 in Bowling Green
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – (Ole Miss Media Relations) Ole Miss (4-1-2) dominated the pace of play Sunday afternoon at WKU (5-1-0), handing the Hilltoppers their first loss of the season in a 1-0 win at the WKU Soccer Complex.
The Rebels were all over the Hilltoppers throughout the match, spending 74 percent of possession time in the attacking half of the field, outshooting the home side 12-3 in the affair.
Ole Miss put its foot on the gas right from the jump, dominating possession throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Channing Foster came close to getting the Rebels on the board early, flashing a header narrowly wide in the seventh minute. About 10 minutes later, Molly Martin also came close to opening scoring with her head, with her effort being tracked down by WKU keeper Alexis Bach.
After a Foster rocket was palmed away by Bach, Martin finally broke through a few minutes later in the 34th minute. Playing out on the wing, Haleigh Stackpole found Martin’s feet at the top of the box and the senior took full advantage of the space that was given, picking out a corner and slotting it home.
The Rebels continued to pile on the pressure in the second half. While Ole Miss was unable to find a second to salt the game away, the constant action in the attacking third kept the Lady Hilltoppers from being able to create a threat as Rebel keeper Ashley Orkus secured her first clean sheet of the season.
QUICK KICKS
• Molly Martin’s first half goal was her fifth of the season, taking over sole possession of first place on the team.
• Haleigh Stackpole set up Martin for the goal, her nation-leading eighth assist of the season.
• Stackpole has assisted on each of Ole Miss’ last six goals.
NEXT UP
Ole Miss returns home to open up SEC play on Thursday, hosting Alabama at 6 p.m. CT in Oxford. The match will be streamed via SEC Network +.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
