Box Score OXFORD, Miss. – Junior goalkeeper
Sara Small had the game of her life, making a career-high 13 saves and flummoxing a Southeastern Conference team for more than 90 full minutes.
But in the sixth minute of overtime, Ole Miss finally converted on one of its many opportunities to earn a 1-0 victory over Little Rock on Sunday evening.
The Trojans (3-3) defended for nearly the entire game against the Rebels (4-0-2), and Small proved to be the star defender. She had eight saves in the first half and five more in the second to help send the game to overtime in front of a large, pro-Rebels crowd.
CeCe Kizer would eventually have the game-winner for the Rebels in the 96th minute, striking the ball from the right side of the penalty box into the upper left corner of the net.
"This was a loss that really felt like a win, if that's possible," coach
Adrian Blewitt said. "We got the maximum out of the girls who played in every department. We knew we had to defend, we got organized defensively and they battled their hearts out."
But Small was far from alone in the defensive half of the field throughout the contest. Trojan defenders
Nora Hellmers,
Hali Long,
Bailey Fithian all played the full 96 minutes and cleared countless balls away from danger for the game's duration. Midfielder
Mikayla Uyokpeyi also played the full 96 minutes and was vital defending as well.
Claire Palmer, Caitlin Eddy,
Talia Graves,
Quin Wilkes and
Jaclyn Purvine all also played more than an hour of the game, helping to knock Ole Miss chances away from danger throughout.
In the end, the Rebels took 30 total shots on goal to the Trojans' four and had 13 corner kicks to Little Rock's one.
"We had a fantastic keeper display tonight from
Sara Small," Blewitt said. "We take great confidence from this, and I think we progressed as a team tonight."
The first half of the contest completely belonged to Small. By the time 45 minutes had come off the clock, Small had already registered a career-high eight saves. The Rebels had multiple tremendous opportunities on goal, but Small went horizontal throughout the half to knock away any Ole Miss shot she had to.
The first save of the evening, though, went to
Hali Long. The Little Rock defender ran back toward the net to keep a shot by Gretchen Harknett from going in as Small had come out of the net to challenge the attack. Long's save kept the scoreboard blank in the second minute and set the stage for Small's big afternoon.
Small's best moment may have come in the 40th minute of the game. With the Rebels breaking in on goal, a Trojan defender committed a foul in the penalty box to set up a penalty kick. But Small was equal to the task, diving low to parry yet another chance by the home team.
At the first-half break, Ole Miss had taken 17 shots and eight corner kicks while the Trojans had zeros in both of those categories. The Trojans' offense was limited in the period, though Garuba,
Quin Wilkes, Uyokpeyi, Purvine and Eddy teamed up for some quality passing at points. None of it resulted in any clear chances on goal, however.
Little Rock began the second half in a more assertive fashion, taking a shot and earning a corner kick in the first three minutes. The Trojan defense again remained incredibly strong, allowing the Rebels to take just seven shots in the second half and cutting down on their first-half total by 10.
Small still had plenty of work to do in the period, making five saves and snagging corner kicks, crosses and long throw-ins out of midair to help the Trojans force overtime.
Through the first five minutes of overtime, the story remained the same as the Trojans kept the Rebels from threatening very seriously. But as the clock reached the 95:00 mark, Ole Miss' Addie Forbus hit a shot off the crossbar and a rebound by Kizer was blocked by the Trojan defense.
Twenty seconds after that, the game was over on Kizer's strike.
Next up for the Trojans is a home game on Tuesday night. Little Rock welcomes in-state rival UAPB to the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex for another #CrowdColeman game at 7 p.m.
