Ole Miss battles Samford to a 1-1 tie

In their third ever meeting, the Samford Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels battled to a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of play.

The Rebels kicked off the Kickin’ Cancer Match, benefitting Baptist Health and honoring Jennifer O’Connor, the late mother of junior forward Mo O’Connor.

The Rebels got off to a slow start, with their first real chances coming in the 10th minute. Senior Sydney Michalak tallied the first shot of the game off of a corner from Haleigh Stackpole.

After Michalak’s shot on frame, the Rebels earned three straight corners, but were unable to find the back of the net.

The first half fared similarly to the teams’ previous meeting with a scoreless first 45 minutes. While the Rebels maintained strong possession, they could not seem to thread the needle in the final third.

At the start of the second half, Ole Miss caught Samford on their heels, finding the back of the net just two minutes in.

Stackpole’s short corner found the feet of O’Connor who sent it back out to Stackpole. With her seventh assist of the season, Stackpole sent the ball into senior Channing Foster, who headed it into the side netting, putting the Rebels up 1-0.

The Rebels were able to dominate the Bulldogs until they leveled the score in the 61st minute after their first corner kick of the game.

The two teams continued to battle in a physical showdown, with a combined 16 fouls on the day. Despite the Rebels numerous chances from their ten corner kicks, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Ole Miss and Samford totaled nine shots each, with the visitors edging the Rebels 5-3 in shots on goal.

The Rebels look to Thursday when they host the University of Central Florida at 6 p.m.