Xander Norris
Victory seemed so close for Ole Miss on Friday night, but the Rebels settled for a 1-1 draw in their first SEC matchup against Missouri.
Throughout the 110 minutes played at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium, the Rebels showed tenacity, registering a 29-18 shot advantage over Mizzou.
Defensively, Ashley Orkus made five stops on the night and once again stood tall between the posts.
The woodwork proved to be a friend for the Tigers throughout the match as the frame denied Ole Miss seven times.
Despite several quality attempts from both teams, the ball refused to find its way into the goal in the first 45 minutes of the match.
Just when it appeared that both the Tigers and the Rebels would have a scoreless tie at halftime, Martin answered with her first goal of the year to give Ole Miss a halftime lead. With 30 ticks left on the clock, Martin took a feed from Channing Foster and made a neatly tucked shot inside the bottom right corner.
With momentum on their side, Ole Miss nearly added to its lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Maddy Houghton deceived Tiger goalkeeper Peyton Bauman and took a long-range shot at the goal, however, the ball hit the crossbar and went out of bounds.
Missouri’s Blythe Beldner found the equalizer in the 77th minute with a close-range shot in the box. After Beldner’s goal, Ole Miss created few chances to put the Tigers away in the closing minutes. After the full 90 minutes, the score remained tied at 1-1, and the match extended into overtime.
In a play that foreshadowed the ending of Saturday’s football game, Foster looked to have scored the golden goal in the first overtime period, but with the omission of video review in league play, it was ruled that the Tigers cleared the ball before it fully crossed the goal line.
In the second overtime, the Rebels once again had the best looks at the goal. In the 102nd minute, Martin and Mo O’Connor had a 2-on-1 with Bauman, but O’Connor put a heavy touch on the ball, and Bauman made a sliding save.
Foster also had a chance to score in the 107th minute, but her shot hit the frame of the goal, which resulted in a goal kick. The clock hit zero a few minutes later, and both teams finished with an overall record of 6-2-1.
The Rebels are back in action Thursday as they travel to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 6 p.m.
