OXFORD, Miss. — Limited chances and two second-half goals by Ole Miss snapped Arkansas’ five-match unbeaten streak Sunday afternoon in Oxford, as the Rebels topped the Razorbacks, 3-1, at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
Junior Kayla McKeon scored her sixth goal of the season in the 82nd minute, cutting Ole Miss’ lead to one, but the Rebels regained the two-goal advantage two minutes later for the final tally.
With the loss, Arkansas (9-3-2, 4-2-0 SEC) drops its first match since falling 3-1 at Georgia in its SEC opener.
During the unbeaten streak, the Razorbacks scored eight times, four coming from junior Tori Cannata and one each from Stefani Doyle, Kayla McKeon, Bryana Hunter and Taylor Malham. Cannata had two multi-goal performances over the last four weeks (vs. No. 2 Texas A&M; vs. LSU), the first braces of her career.
McKeon, with her score Sunday, is now tied for the team lead in goals (6) with Cannata and she also takes over sole possession of the team lead in points (14). It’s McKeon’s first goal since scoring the game-winner at Alabama (Sept. 23) and her second-straight match with at least one point.
Against the Rebels (9-5-1, 3-2-1 SEC), Arkansas’ chances were limited at the net as six of its nine shots came in the first half. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Beitz was challenged multiple times early on and was able to make five saves, unfortunately, the Rebels stayed offensive in the second half with three of their five shots going on target.
From Head Coach Colby Hale
“We’ll move on from this one. There were challenges that seemed to get the best of us on the day, but we are a resilient team. We’ll let this one sting for tonight and then prepare for Kentucky starting tomorrow.”
How It Went Down
32nd minute – As many of Arkansas’ chances came in the first half, none were able to cross the goal line, even after Ole Miss’ starting keeper, Marnie Merritt, went down with an injury, forcing her to miss the final 83 minutes of the match. The Rebels were able to take advantage of the Razorbacks’ missed opportunities and scored the first goal of the day off the foot of freshman Lonnie Mulligan. Mulligan found a through ball into space and hit the crossbar from 22 yards away, but got it bounce over the line and into the net, making it 1-0 Ole Miss.
50th minute – Five minutes into the second half, Ole Miss doubled its lead when Channing Foster scored her fourth goal of the year with the help of CeCe Kizer. The duo matched up on a counterattack and Foster was able to score with the left foot into the right-hand post.
82nd minute – The Razorbacks had some life in the final 10 minutes when McKeon scored on a beautiful strike from 15 yards in the box. A loose ball after a free kick volley found the foot of McKeon where she one-timed it into the right side netting. It was her sixth goal of the year.
84th minute – The final push by Arkansas wasn’t enough as the Rebels regained the two-goal lead just two minutes later on a score by CeCe Kizer. Kizer, who had the assist on the previous goal, got herself two points when she fired a shot past Beitz from the left side of the box. Beitz had a good read on it, but it was just out of her reach.
Up Next
Arkansas is back home for its next match when it takes on Kentucky inside the confines of Razorback Field. First kick is slated for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network+.
