Ole Miss to test Arkansas’ fast start

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas women’s soccer team is off to an unprecedented start.

After an overtime win at Alabama on Thursday, No. 15 Arkansas moved to 10-1 overall, good for the best start in program history, and 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play.

The win sets up today’s game at Ole Miss (6-5, 1-2), where Razorbacks coach Colby Hale is expecting a challenge, along with sweltering heat in the mid-90s. The Rebels come in following a 3-0 win over rival Mississippi State. Meanwhile, Arkansas is looking for its fifth win away from Fayetteville this season.

Winning and gutting out games on the road has been vital to Arkansas’ national rise, and Hale said this club has as much heart and will to win as any team he’s coached.

“First of all, we’ve got some talent. Second of all, we’ve got some senior leaders. We’ve got seven seniors and a couple of juniors who

do a good job,” Hale said. “Last year was a struggle. We had lots of injuries and lots of stuff go on, and that created some hunger in this team. This group is coachable, talented and hardworking.”

Senior midfielder Lindsey Mayo came through for the Razorbacks Thursday, netting her third game-winning goal of the season to secure a 2-1 win over the Crimson Tide. Playing big in big moments has been a theme for Arkansas this season.

Top five wins over Duke and Florida propelled Arkansas into the national spotlight and a No. 15 ranking. Following the win over the Gators, Athletic Director Jeff Long joined in on the celebration by sliding through standing water dressed in a full suit.

Video of Long’s reaction immediately went viral and the program was flooded with more than 40 media requests from media outlets including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and other outlets.

“He’s so supportive, and the university is so supportive,” Mayo said of Long. “We have a very unique culture, I think, and we’re very blessed to have that for sure.”

Response on campus and in the community to the hot start has been overwhelming for Mayo and her teammates. But she said the key to maintaining strong play is taking things day by day.

“I think the team has done really well with that, and we’ve gotten to know what gets us ready to play,” said Mayo, tied for second on the team with five goals. “We need to be professionals in our own way and know how to prepare ourselves for each game.”

The 10-1 outburst has been huge toward perception, resume and recruiting, Hale says. All along, he knew his Razorbacks were capable of this kind of run.

“I don’t think that was a surprise to us,” he said. “You’ve seen it a million times, though, you come off big wins and have an emotional letdown. We didn’t have that.”

Arkansas’ attack has been one of its biggest strengths this season. The Razorbacks have outscored opponents 2912 and outshot them 184-89. True freshman Kayla McKeon leads the team with six goals.

Today’s game can be seen on the SEC Network at 2 p.m.