Soccer explodes for 5-0 win over SEMO
OXFORD, Miss. – Razorback soccer (2-1-1) concluded their week at the Rebel Classic with a 5-0 win against the SE Missouri State Redhawks (1-2-0) on Sunday afternoon at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Four different Hogs scored in the match with Arkansas outshooting SEMO by a 29-5 margin.
How It Happened
>> Stefani Doyle got the Razorbacks started early after she went one-on-one with the SEMO ‘keeper, side-stepping her before putting it away on the open goal in the 8th-minute.
>> After knocking on the door with a few opportunities, senior Tori Cannata beat her defender to the left side in the 17th-minute and slotted it to the back post for the 2-0 Razorback lead.
>> In the 37th-minute Kaelee Van Gundy drew a foul for the Razorbacks on the right-hand side setting up a Cannata free kick. Brooke Pirkle would redirect the cross with her head for the third Razorback goal of the half.
>> In the opening minutes of the second half, junior Taylor Malham made a run down the left side, sending in a cross that eventually found Anna Podojil for the goal. It was the freshman’s second-straight match with a goal.
>> Cannata picked up her second goal of the afternoon after going lower right corner on a free kick from a couple yards outside the box in the 57th-minute.
The Run of Play
After Doyle’s goal in the opening eight minutes put the Razorbacks on the board, SEMO countered in the 11th-minute with a shot that would eventually fall short of Arkansas’ far post. Haley VanFossen cleared it out of bounds for the Redhawks corner, but nothing came of it.
Cannata was able to get on the end of a Razorback cross with her head, but the SEMO ‘keeper made a diving save to her right to show it away. Cannata kept pushing in the 17th-minute, taking on a defender and putting a strike across goal for the 2-0 Arkansas edge. Pirkle snuck in her header before the end of the first 45 minutes.
Arkansas continued to pour it on in the second half, adding goals by Podojil and Cannata, her second, as the run of play stayed in the SEMO defensive half for most of the final 45 minutes.
Hear it from Coach Hale
“It was a good weekend and we will take away some confidence in some areas and identify areas we need to grow in others. The match today was improvement. I think the players will be pleased with their performance.”
Next Up
The Razorbacks will be back in Fayetteville for a home stint when they host Lamar and McNeese State next week. First kick against Lamar on Thursday will be at 7 p.m., while the match against McNeese State next Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. Both matches will be televised on SEC Network+.
