Ole Miss Soccer Host Middle Tennessee

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

The Ole Miss soccer team opens up on the pitch at home against Middle Tennessee on Thursday. The first kick is set for 7 p.m. on SEC Network +.

Ole Miss (0-0-1) is coming into the match off of a tie against Memphis on Sunday night. The Rebels knotted the game off the boot of Molly Martin scoring in the second half. The senior has found the back of the net 10 times.

Senior Channing Foster also received some recognition ahead of the start of the campaign, being named a Third Team Preseason All-American by College Soccer News.

Only four departures from last season’s roster, Ole Miss returns every goal, assist and save from the 2020 campaign to the roster in 2021. Additionally, the Rebel lineup was infused with 11 total newcomers.

Coach Matt Mott’s club’s first home match against ETSU was canceled due to rain.

Middle Tennessee (1-0-1) opened the campaign with a 1-0 home victory over Belmont before drawing 1-1 against Samford in Murfreesboro on Sunday.

The Blue Raiders are led by senior forward Peyton DePriest, a preseason All-Conference USA selection who tied the C-USA scoring record with a penalty kick in Sunday’s draw against Samford. It was the 47th goal of DePriest’s career, bagging double-digit tallies in 3-of-4 seasons, including a career-high 18 in 2019. Junior forward Cambell Kivisto has scored MTSU’s other goal this season, netting the winner against Belmont.

Junior Hannah Suder has started both of the Blue Raider’s first two matches, surrendering one goal in 200 minutes. Suder also started all six matches for MTSU last season, posting a 1.35 GAA and a .636 save percentage.

These two programs are meeting for the eighth time as Ole Miss has won six of the seven previous meetings with Middle Tennessee, including five wins in Oxford. A pair of three-match Rebel winning streaks bookend the only Blue Raider win in the series, a 1-0 victory in Murfreesboro in 2008. The two sides have not met since 2014 when Ole Miss won handily by a 4-1 scoreline.