Rebels’ Merritt tabbed as defensive player of the week

Ole Miss’ senior goalkeeper Marnie Merritt was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after her stellar performance against Texas A&M last week.

Merritt’s season-high nine saves helped the Rebels secure a 1-1 draw against the No. 5 Aggies last Friday. She is the only keeper to hold Ally Watt and the high-scoring Texas A&M offense to a single goal this season.

Merritt was only one save shy of tying her single-game record of 10, which came in last season’s game against the Aggies.

“I think that when you play Texas A&M, you’re playing with some of the best in the country, and you know you’re going to have to stand on your head,” Merritt said. “Hats off to our defense. Hats off to everybody for following the game plan and just being big-time all night.”

Merritt put an exclamation mark on her career performance with a much-needed save in the final seconds of overtime. After the ball bounced around dangerously in front of the Ole Miss net, Aggie defender Jimena Lopez sent a rocket strike toward the near post. It seemed to be a sure game-winning goal as Lopez raised her arms in celebration, but Merritt came flying across the goalposts to deny the shot and a Texas A&M win.

Merritt credited the defenders in front of her for performing as the wall that managed to shut down all but one of the 28 shots from the Aggies on Friday.

“Anytime you can slide, dive, throw your body in front of the ball — that’s all you can ask for. And they (Ole Miss’ defenders) did it all night,” Merritt said. “That (is) just huge for us denying shots.”

This is the second time Merritt has been awarded this honor during her time at Ole Miss. The Huntersville, North Carolina, native earned the distinction in 2016 during her sophomore season, as well. She joins CeCe Kizer on the list of Rebels named as a player of the week so far this year.

Ole Miss has two games this week, against Missouri on Thursday and Arkansas on Sunday. The Rebels will look to Merritt to continue her top-notch performance and help lead the team into the heart of conference play in October.

“I think, with the six games we have left, we are going into them with some momentum,” head coach Matt Mott said in his weekly press conference. “We are excited, and I think our team feels good about where we are at.”