Ole Miss Rallies to Defeat Alabama Soccer, 3-2

Friday, September 25

Oxford, Miss.

7:00 p.m

Alabama

4-5-2, 1-2-0SEC

Ole Miss

7-2-2, 1-2-0SEC

Alabama

Ole Miss

Ole Miss Rallies to Defeat Alabama Soccer, 3-2

9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 25, 2015

Final Stats

OXFORD, Miss. - The Alabama soccer team fell to the Ole Miss Rebels by a final score of 3-2 on Friday night at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Alabama carried a 2-0 lead into halftime, but the Rebels responded with three unanswered goals after the break to secure the come-from-behind victory. With the loss, Alabama falls to 4-5-2, including a 1-2 record against Southeastern Conference opponents. Tonight's win improves Ole Miss' record to 7-2-2, including a 1-2 mark in SEC play.

"Tonight is a tough one to swallow," said head coach Wes Hart. "We hate losing any game, but it's especially tough when you're leading by two goals. I thought we did a good job executing our game plan in the first half, but you have to give credit to Ole Miss. They got off to a great start after halftime and used that in their favor for the rest of the match."

Alabama struck early, scoring the game's first goal at the 23:57 mark. Junior Celia Jimenez brought the ball down the right side of the attack and sent a cross into the Ole Miss penalty box to an open Christina Martensson who headed home her first goal of the season.

Sophomore Lacey Clarida doubled the Tide's lead in the 42nd minute, converting a penalty kick after being brought down in the box with just under three minutes remaining in the half.

"We decided to play more of a direct style than we have all season," said Hart. "We did not look to build at all in our defending half of the field. It wasn't the prettiest soccer, but it resulted in two first half goals."

Ole Miss wasted no time cutting into the deficit after the break, as the Rebels' Addie Forbus scored her seventh goal of the season just 17 seconds into the second half. Ole Miss knotted the score at 2-2 at the 56:09 mark, as Liza Harbin headed home a corner kick for her first goal of the season. Cece Kizer unlocked the tie in the 61st minute, scoring her tenth goal of the season to send the Rebels to their seventh victory of the season.

"Giving up a goal 30 seconds into the second half gave Ole Miss a lot of life," Hart said. "That caused us to go into a little bit of a shell. We played a little timid and they took advantage of that."

Following tonight's action, Alabama will head to Columbia, S.C., to square off against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. The match between the conference foes will be available on SECN+.

Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.