Razorbacks Fall Short To Rebels
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorback soccer team netted a couple of second half goals against 20th-ranked Ole Miss, but both were waved off as a result of an off-sides call, allowing the Rebels to escape with a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon.
Freshman Abbi Neece and sophomore Stefani Doyle both had goals waved off in the second half after officials concluded that the Razorbacks were offsides on the scoring plays. Both times, the goals would have tied the match at 1-1.
Arkansas still created plenty of chances throughout the match, especially in the first half as it won the corners game, 5-0, in the first 45 minutes. However, Ole Miss was able to score the only goal it needed in the 31st minute off the foot of CeCe Kizer from the top of the box, her 10th of the season.
“First off, congrats to Ole Miss,” Arkansas head coach Colby Hale said. “I thought we created enough chances, but we missed a couple inside the six and had a couple called back for offsides. We created enough chances, we just have to be a little more ruthless in front of goal. We’ve talked about winning the boxes. I thought we did a good job of limiting their chances. I think their two best players took all of their shots from distance. We’ve just got to keep progressing and moving forward and find ways to win. I think we’re doing a lot of things well, we just need to clean up some things.”
The loss drops Arkansas to 6-5-1 on the year and 1-1-1 in Southeastern Conference play. Ole Miss wins its second match in a row, improving to 9-1-1 overall and 2-1-0 in SEC play.
Redshirt junior Jordan Harris made her fourth-straight start in the net for the Razorbacks, totaling two saves. Unfortunately, the loss was her first of the year, dropping her record to 3-1-1.
The Razorbacks managed nine shots on the day, but were held without a shot on goal for the second-straight match. Senior defender Jessi Hartzler led all Arkansas players with four shots in 90 minutes, while sophomore Stefani Doyle and freshman Taylor Malham added three and two shots, respectively.
After Ole Miss took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, Arkansas answered back in the form of a right-footed goal from Neece in the 49th minute. It would have been her second goal of the season, however, well after the score, the official waved off the goal and called Neece offsides.
Later in the half, in the 86th minute, Arkansas seemed to have scored to tie the match up again. This time, it wasa Doyle who tapped home a pass back from the end line from Hartzler. It would have been her fourth goal, but after the officials convened, Arkansas had its second goal of the day waved off. It was one of four offsides called against Arkansas in the match.
“This is the SEC, it’s always going to be a dogfight, every match,” Hale said. “At this point, it’s about finding ways to win. We had some kids gut it out and step up. There were some positives for sure, but overall, we have to find ways to win.”
Up Next
Arkansas goes back on the road next week as it travels to Texas A&M on Friday to face the Aggies in its only match of the week. First kick in College Station, Texas is slated for 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.
For more information on Razorback Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.
