Ole Miss soccer off to its best start to SEC play in program history

Ole Miss soccer has had some good teams and players since Matt Mott has been in charge but this season’s team could be the best yet.

No. 10 Ole Miss (9-0-2) defeated Auburn 1-0 on Sunday to move to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play. It is the best start to an SEC schedule in program history.

The win was also the eighth shutout by Ole Miss in its first 11 matches as goalkeeper Ashley Orkus and the defense has been a wall in the backfield.

Ole Miss has seen great starts to seasons under Mott but the way the 2022 season has began this team feels a little more special to Mott in his 12th year.

“It’s interesting, we’ve had some great attackers and maybe the backline wasn’t as good. We’ve had some great backlines and maybe didn’t have enough scorers. I think this is without question the deepest team we’ve ever had,” Mott said. “We played 20 yesterday, we never do that in SEC play in the past. That was a huge difference. I think fast and deep are the two things that I would say is the most we’ve had and we have a really special goalkeeper, who every game is making a save that is keeping us ahead or keeping us tied and allowing to get points.”

MCGUIRE FINISHES IN FRONT OF THE NET! pic.twitter.com/nqqHx2r19g

— Ole Miss Soccer (@OleMissSoccer) September 25, 2022

Depth is something Mott has not had much of during his time at Ole Miss, until this season.

Nineteen Ole Miss players have played in at least 10 matches and all but two have play in all 11. Of those 19 there have been nine who have started every match.

Orkus is one of those nine and has played every minute of the season. No other Ole Miss goalkeeper has guarded the net. She has 31 saves on the season and 282 in her career, putting her 15 shy from taking over the program record in that category.

In the SEC Orkus leads in save percentage (.912) and goals against (3). She is tied with Mississippi State’s Maddy Anderson for the most shutouts at eight.

“(Orkus) starts our attack because she kicks the ball as well as anybody in the league, Mott said. “She had a couple (on Sunday), 80 yards, not many goalkeepers can do that. But absolutely, we feel very comfortable. If a ball is going to be served up into the box, she is going to clean it up. That comfort level with the backline is huge for us and allows us to cheat our wide backs forward a little bit more, knowing we feel comfortable with her in the back. She’s been phenomenal.”

Goal scorers are not in short supply, either. Something that has helped in SEC play.

All three conference games have been won by a one-goal margin. The last two wins against Auburn and Florida were by a score of 1-0.

There have been 13 different Rebels score at least one goal this season. Marykate McGuire leads Ole Miss with six goals and Oxford’s own Mo O’Connor follows with five. Three more players have two goals each and eight more have one goal a piece.

McGuire is currently fourth in the SEC in goals scored while O’Connor is tied for fifth.

“I say to the team all the time it’s hard to win 1-0, certainly on the road but the way we are defending is putting us in a really good spot to keep clean sheets,” Mott said. “We’ve given up three goals in 11 games, which is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. The team is just defending at a really high level and we’re finding ways to get to goals.”

Ole Miss hosts Tennessee (6-3-1, 2-1 SEC) on Friday at 7 p.m. CT in its lone match of the week. The match will air on SEC Network+.

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