Oct. 10, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With less than a month left in the season, the Vanderbilt soccer team will travel to Ole Miss for a Friday night match which will likely hold playoff implications. Fans can watch all of the action from the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium for free through Rebel Vision, or by clicking HERE. Live stats will also be available .
Vanderbilt (3-7-3, 0-4-1 SEC) will play five of its final six matches against teams vying for one of the final four spots in the conference tournament. The ‘Dores currently sit just five points shy of the final playoff spot, and eight points away from the Rebels who, if the season ended today, would be the seventh-seed in the tournament.
Ole Miss (10-3-1, 3-2-0 SEC) has been dancing in and out of the NSCAA poll throughout the whole season. The Rebels, currently receiving votes, breezed through their non-conference schedule before getting tested in conference play. Ole Miss has picked up conference wins against Arkansas, Auburn and Georgia, with their two setbacks coming against Tennessee and then-No. 7 Florida.
Friday night’s contest will feature three of the best goal scorers in the SEC in Vandy’s Cheyna Williams and Ole Miss’ Rafaelle Souza and Mandy McCalla.
Williams scored her 10th goal of the season this past weekend in a 1-1 draw against Missouri. With that goal, the sophomore became the first Commodore to score at least 10 goals in a season since Laura Koerner did it in three consecutive seasons from 1996-1998.
Souza and McCalla have carried the Rebels offensively all season long, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the teams goals. Souza’s 13 scores put her in a five-way tie for third nationally, while McCalla’s 10 goals put her in a 10-way tie, along with Williams, for 19th in the country.
The Commodores will be looking for continued consistent play from sophomore keeper Shannon Morrish. The Bradenton, Fla., native picked up her first start of the season Sunday against Kentucky, one game after playing 105 minutes off the bench against Missouri. In those two contests, Morrish posted 13 saves, including a career-best seven against the Wildcats.
Following the one-game road trip to Oxford, Miss., the Commodores will be back to the VU Soccer Complex on October 18 and October 20 for matches with Arkansas and Mississippi State, respectively. Sunday’s match with the Bulldogs will be also be the ‘Dores’ Senior Day celebration.
