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Ole Miss Downs Texas 1-0 For First-Ever NCAA Tournament Win

Rebels Will Face Third-Seeded Florida On Sunday

Nov. 14, 2003

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - It was a night of milestones for the Ole Miss women's soccer program Friday, as the Lady Rebels earned the program's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off Texas 1-0 in first-round action at the University of Florida.

The Rebels (15-5-2) earned the 100th win in the nine-year history of the program. The 15 wins also marks the highest win total for Ole Miss ever in a season.

"This is a great win to beat an extremely talented Texas team," said Ole Miss head coach Steve Holeman. "This team came out ready to play and committed itself to give everything it had in order to reach our goals and keep playing in this tournament. At this point, I can't think of a single win that can top this one."

Ole Miss got back on its heels early as Texas attacked off the opening possession, pressing the Lady Rebels hard. But, the Ole Miss defense responded, and the Lady Rebels turned the tables, attacking the Longhorn defense in return.

The Lady Rebels drew the only blood of the game, when Megan Mattei took a pass from Amy Sample at the top of the box, booting a shot from 18-yards out that struck home to put the Rebels on the board in the 33rd minute of play. With the goal, the sophomore from Memphis notched the first-ever goal for Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament.

"Amy Sample played a great ball to me in the middle," Mattei said of her shot. "I turned and no one stepped up to me. I saw the goalkeeper was out a little, so I took the shot."

The goal marked the second of the season for Mattei, and helped Ole Miss earn its ninth-straight win over a Big 12 team. The Lady Rebels are 11-3 all-time against the Big 12.

Both teams came out aggressive in the second half, as the Longhorns fought to get back in the game, while Ole Miss fought to extend its lead.

Texas got its best scoring opportunity off a shot in the box in the second half, but Brittany Gillespie made a diving save to tip the ball clear of the gal and preserve the Rebel lead. The Longhorns would continue to attack the Lady Rebels' end of the field, but the Ole Miss defense answered the challenge, thwarting every scoring attempt by Texas.

Gillespie recorded eight saves on the night off 12 shots by Texas. The Lady Rebels recorded eight shots on the night.

"It's a great feeling to be in my senior year and have another chance to play this game and keep going in this tournament," Gillespie said. "I would hate for it to be over already. It was hard to contain my emotion on the field. When the last second ticked off the clock, I just let it all out.

"I believed in my heart we could pull this off," said the senior goalkeeper. "Last season we were excited to be in the tournament, but that's not enough this season. We knew we could go farther."

The Lady Rebels will get the chance to continue on in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Ole Miss will face third-seeded Florida in second-round action at 1:30 EST on Sunday.