OXFORD, Miss. – A successful set play was the difference tonight as No. 13 Mississippi claimed a 1-0 win over Florida Thursday evening at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
With the win, Mississippi remains among the nation’s 16 undefeated NCAA Division I programs. The Rebels are one of four SEC teams in the top 25 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll.
Thursday’s scoring:
After a scoreless opening half, Mo O’Connor put in Taylor Radecki’s corner kick in the 52nd minute to give the Rebels the only goal of the match.
Florida looked to tie the match in the 83rdrd minutes. Julianne Leskauskas’ shot from distance headed to the near upper corner of the net. Mississippi’s Ashley Orkus showed why she was a 2021 All-America first team selection, just getting her hand on the ball to tip it out for a Gator corner kick.
Thursday’s result was Florida’s sixth match of 2022 decided by a single goal.
“We’ve been in these games late. While that’s definitely encouraging, it’s bittersweet because it makes you frustrated because you’re that close to winning or tying the game. We’re just trying to continue to keep getting better and better from each team,” Florida Coach Samantha Bohon said.
“I take away from this game two things. One, our roster availability is probably the worst it’s been all season besides maybe the Florida State game. Love to see our players step up and to play roles that they haven’t been asked to play before and to play minutes they haven’t played before. Tori Grambo went from not playing for a year and a half to playing 90 minutes. That’s truly incredible. It shows a great mentality and fitness from her point of view. So there’s definitely a lot of positives to take from this.
“But also, we’re all competitors. To be that close – we felt like we had them under pressure for the last 10 minutes of the game. But Ole Miss is a very, very good team,” she continued. “They put us under pressure, especially opening the second half. Thought our backline and Alexa [Goldberg] absorbed the pressure but didn’t break to give us the opportunity to try and push them in the last 10 minutes.”
Did you know?
- Redshirt Tori Grambo played the entirety of Thursday’s match. It was her first start since the second round of the 2020 SEC Tournament. Injuries sidelined her for the 2021 season and tonight’s match was her fourth appearance of 2022.
- Florida is now 18-8-2 all-time in SEC road openers.
Records:
Florida: 2-7-0, 0-2 SEC
Mississippi: 8-0-2, 2-0 SEC
Series Record:
Florida leads 21-5-1
Next Up:
Florida returns home to play host to Georgia on Sunday for a nationally televised match. The Bulldogs opened SEC home action Thursday with a 1-0 loss to No. 8 South Carolina.
Sunday, Sept. 25 vs. Georgia (7-3, 1-1 SEC)
Time/Site: Noon ET at Donald R. Disney Stadium
TV: ESPNU with action called by Jill Loyden and Mike Watts
Radio: ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM with action called by Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington
Live Stats
Tickets: Free
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Florida (2-7-0, SEC 0-2) at Mississippi (8-0-2, 2-0 SEC)
Stadium: Ole Miss Soccer Stadium (1,222)
Weather: 79 degrees, clear, winds ENE 4 mph
| Goals by Period | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring Summary:
| No. | Time | Team | Goal Scorer | Assist |
| 1. | 51:36 | UM | Mo O’Connor | Taylor Radecki |
Shots: Florida 6, Mississippi 8
Saves: Florida 2 (Alexa Goldberg 2), Mississippi 4 (Ashley Orkus 4)
Offsides: UF 2, UM 1
Cautions: Price Loposer-UM – 86:23 (yellow)