OXFORD, Miss. – The new era of Ole Miss Soccer began with a bang Thursday night as the Rebels (1-0-0) shut out Southern Miss (0-1-0) by a score of 2-0.
Newcomers Kelly Brady and Evie Ewing provided the firepower as they each scored a goal in their first game as a Rebel, Shu Ohba made three saves and recorded a shutout in her first game in Oxford, and head coach Molly Rouse earned her first win at the helm of the program.
Ole Miss outshot Southern Miss 13-5 and placed six of those shots on goal. Kelly Brady led the team with three shots while Kate Smith and Brenlin Mullaney each took two. Both goals for the Rebels came in the second half as they turned up the pressure on the Golden Eagles.
The Rebels created plenty of opportunities in the opening half, outshooting USM 4-1 in the first 20 minutes of play but could not get anything into the back of the net. Both teams would go into halftime scoreless.
Ewing scored the first goal of the season for the Rebels in the 51st minute as she pressured the Southern Miss goalkeeper and was able to deflect a pass right back into the goal. It was the first goal of the freshman’s career and it would give the Rebels a lead they would not relinquish.
Brady made it 2-0 in the 68th minute as she was awarded a penalty kick for drawing a foul inside the box. She placed it in the top right corner of the goal, just off the fingertips of the leaping goalkeeper to give Ole Miss a two-goal lead.
Southern Miss took just one shot from the moment on as the Rebels locked up their first shutout and first win of the season.
Ole Miss will now travel north to Tennessee on Sunday to take on the No. 20 Memphis Tigers in their first road contest of the season.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Soccer on Twitter at @OleMissSoccer, on the Ole Miss Soccer Facebook page, and on Instagram at @officialolemisssoccer.
