OXFORD, Miss. – Louisiana Tech soccer fell in their first road trip of the season to No. 12 ranked Ole Miss in Oxford Thursday night, 5-0.
After a back and forth start to match, Ole Miss (4-0-1) got on the board in the 21' off a set piece from the corner from Taylor Radecki to Mo O'Connor.
LA Tech (2-2-1) played a solid defensive half and kept a very high-powered Ole Miss offense in check until the final minute of the first-half when Lucy Green found the bottom right corner of the net to make it 2-0 at the half.
In the second half, Tech's defense swatted away chance after chance from the Rebels, but the offensive chances began to pile up as Ole Miss finished the match with 25 total shots taken and eight corners earned.
The speed and experience of Ole Miss eventually wore down the Techster's defense as they were able to take advantage of a few late game chances, including one in the 75' from Marykate McGuire, her fourth of the season, and two Alex Schoenstadt goals in the 85' and 89'.
Sydnee Korchak, the recently named Conference USA goal keep of the week, had another nice performance in net, tying a career-high with eight saves.
Defensively, Ole Miss remains just one of fourteen teams in the country yet to concede a goal on the season. All-American goalkeeper Ashely Orkus earned her 23rd career shutout for the Rebels, a new Ole Miss program record.
Tech managed just three shots and two corners in the match.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Steve Voltz…
"We played a top-level side tonight in Ole Miss. They showed why they are one of the best and most balanced teams in the country. They are just physically impressive and we aren't to that level yet, but I'm really glad we played this match, for several reasons, and I think we learned a lot tonight.
The goal before the half really hurt us, we'd have loved to keep it 1-0 at the half, but I was proud of how we responded coming out. I thought we played a really first 30 minutes in the second half, but saw what happens when you play diligent soccer for the full 90. Those goals at the end were proof of what it takes to finish a game.
I thought we did a lot of really good things but Ole Miss is just too good to give them that many chances. We handled most of them very well, but we didn't play to our strengths enough. When you give several set pieces, long throws, and two big giveaways, they are the type of team that will make you pay. When you look at their goals, that's where they came from. You have to give them credit for taking advantage of that.
This is a continuous maturation process for us and we will continue that process by learning from these matches and it's exciting to think where we will be down the road because of these tests and experiences. We will train tomorrow and are excited about another opportunity against a quality side on Sunday against Mississippi State."
NOTABLES
• Ole Miss now leads the all-time series 1-0-0.
• Tech moves to 2-2-1 on the season overall.
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Sydnee Korchak's scoreless streak ended after 238 minutes of shutout action.
• Korchak tied a career-high eight saves in the match.
• Korchak has 15 saves in her last two matches, 19 on the season.
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Sophie Fijneman played the full 90 minutes for the fourth time in five games this season. It's her third game in a row to go the distance.
UP NEXT
LA Tech will stay in Mississippi for another SEC match as they take on Mississippi State in Starkville on Sunday, Sep. 4 in at 1 p.m. The match can be seen on the SEC Network Plus.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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