@RazorbackSoccer Heads To Starkville To Face Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Arkansas women's soccer team will battle the Bulldogs of Mississippi State on Sunday night in an important conference matchup. The match, which will be the final home contest of the 2014 season for MSU, is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday’s matchup at MSU, the Razorbacks will travel to Missouri to face the Tigers in the 2014 regular season finale (Oct. 30).

WITH A WIN OR TIE
With a result against Mississippi State on Sunday night, the Razorbacks will pick up important points in the SEC standings and will have earned a result in nine of their last 12 contests.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | MISSISSIPPI STATE

• Arkansas leads the series 17-2 and has won 11-straight games over MSU.
• Both of MSU's wins have come in Starkville, but the Bulldogs' last victory in the series came in 2002.
• Five of the last six meetings against Arkansas have been decided by one goal.
• MSU has 19 freshmen on this year’s squad, which is the most since the program’s first team in 1995 (21).

LAST TIME OUT: @RAZORBACKSOCCER VS. NO. 6 TEXAS A&M (10.25.14)

• The Arkansas women’s soccer team put up a valiant effort against the No. 6 Texas A&M on Senior Day at Razorback Field, but two second half goals by the Aggies would prove too much to overcome as the Razorbacks dropped their 2014 regular season home finale 2-1 on Friday night.
• It was a physical Southeastern Conference game that featured 18 fouls and four yellow cards.
• After playing to a scoreless tie in the first half, the Aggies broke through with the game’s first goal in the 64th minute with a Janae Cousineau goal from 25-yards out. A&M added its second goal just eight minutes later as Annie Kunz blasted a shot that squeezed through the hands of Arkansas goalkeeper Cameron Carter to roll in for a score.
• Despite the late two-goal deficit Arkansas struck back with a score of its own in the 85th minute, as junior Lindsey Mayo kicked the ball off the bottom of the crossbar to have it bounce in the goal to keep hope of a comeback alive.
• The Razorbacks are now 14-14-1 all-time in regular season home finales.
• The Razorbacks are now 19-10-2 in 31 home games under Hale.
• Arkansas are 103-89-15 all-time at Razorback Field.
• The loss drops the Razorbacks record at home this season to 5-3-1.
• Arkansas is now 2-3-0 against A&M in Fayetteville and 0-2-0 at Razorback Field.
• The Razorbacks are now 3-8-0 against Top 25 teams under Hale and 0-4-0 this season against the Top 25.
• Lindsay Mayo’s goal marks her second goal of the season and the eighth of her career.
• Sunday’s attendance of 1,307 marked the seventh time in eight home games this season that Arkansas has eclipsed the 1,000 attendance mark.
• @COLBYHALEUA SOUNDBITES
  • On the game
    “I thought we were good. In the second half we were good and created some chances. The first goal, they hit a one-timer, a shot from 30 yards out. That doesn’t happen often but soccer is a fun game. We love the fight we had in our team. Never gave up until the end.”
  • On opportunities
    “We created a couple chances in the opening minutes of the game. We knew we were going to get chances. We liked our attack. I thought we did a good job of limiting their scoring chances, by doing a good job of defending in the box.”
  • On looking forward to Sunday
    “They are all the same. It’s the most important one of the season because it’s the next one. We do not look at too much other than that. Prepare for a good Mississippi State team and be ready to go.”

@RAZORBACKSOCCER TEAM NOTES

• With a social media push a week before to the season opener on Friday, Aug. 22, @RazorbackSoccer moved into the Top 25 for Division I women’s soccer Twitter accounts. Arkansas is now No. 24 with 3,153 followers and is 34 followers shy of the No. 23 spot (behind Tennessee - @LadyVol_Soccer).
• Arkansas is 31-23-6 in the Colby Hare era.
• In 33 SEC games under Hale, Arkansas is 14-15-4.
• Arkansas is 59-126-17 all-time in SEC games.
• Under Coach Hale, the Razorbacks are 2-0-0 against the Bulldogs and have outscored them 3-1.
• SEC Stats | SEC Standings

NATIONAL POLLS

• Arkansas did not receive votes in either of this week’s Top 25 Polls.
  • Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Poll.
  • Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll.

• Arkansas fell five spots into the No. 9 position in the latest NSCAA NCAA Division I - South Poll, behind Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Auburn and Alabama.
  • Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I - South Poll.

NATIONAL RANKINGS (THRU GAMES 10.20.14)

• The Razorbacks are ranked in the top 100 in four categories:
  • Total Assists – 38th
  • Assists Per Game – 46th
  • Total Points – 73rd
  • Points Per Game – 80th
  • Total Goals – 91st
  • Scoring Offense – 86th
• Ashleigh Ellenwood, Claire Kelley and Cameron Carter are each ranked in the top 100 in at least one individual statistic.
  • Ellenwood is ranked 25th in total assists and 32nd in assists per game.
  • Kelley is ranked 42nd in total assists and 55th in assists per game.
  • Carter is ranked 7th in goalie minutes played and 82nd in total saves.

NCAA RPI
The latest RPI rankings of the 2014 season was released Monday afternoon (Oct. 20) on NCAA.com (games played thru Oct. 20). The Razorbacks fell nine spots from last week and are ranked No. 35. Arkansas is also one of eight SEC teams in the top 40.

• Click HERE to view this week’s NCAA Division I Women’s RPI.

5. Texas A&M
7. Florida
10. South Carolina
25. Missouri
28. Georgia
30. Kentucky
33. Auburn
35. Arkansas

@RAZORBACKSOCCER PLAYER NOTES            

• With her assist vs. A&M on Friday, junior Ashleigh Ellenwood now has 67 career points, to give her sole possession of fifth place on the school’s all-time points list. 
  • The assist was also the 17th of Ellenwood’s career and put her in a tie for second on the school’s all-time assist list with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) and teammate Tyler Allen.
  • It was also the ninth assist this season for Ellenwood, putting her in a tie for third on the school’s single-season assist list.
• Tyler Allen’s assist on Friday marked her sixth of the season and the 17th of her career, which put her in a tie for second on the school’s all-time assist list with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) and teammate Ashleigh Ellenwood.
  • Friday’s game was the 78th match that Allen has appeared in for Arkansas, putting her just two games shy of tying the school’s all-time games played record of 80.

@RAZORBACKSOCCER ALL-TIME RECORDS WATCH
Goals
1. 44, Julie Williford (2000-03)
2. 38, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
3. 35, Mary Howard (1987-90)
4. 29, Christina Burger (2003-06)
5. 25, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)
5. 25, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
7. 24, Heather Cato (1996-99)
8. 20, Jessica Fraser (1997-98)

Assists
1. 26, Holly Collins (1997-01)
2. 17, Alexis Hyrup (1992-96)
2. 17, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)
2. 17, TYLER ALLEN (2011-present)
5. 16, Abbey Wilburn (2005-08)
5. 16, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
5. 16, Honey Marsh (1991-94)
5. 16, Kit Carson (1990-93)
5. 16, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
10. 15, Julie Williford (2000-03)
11. 14, Andie Hickman (1993-96)
12. 13, Nicole Bynum (1996-99)

Just out of the top 10:
10, JERIANN OKORO (2011-present)

Points
1. 103, Julie Williford (2000-03)
2. 92, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
3. 81, Mary Howard (1987-90)
4. 69, Christina Burger (2003-06)
5. 67, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)
6. 66, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
 

TDS TOP 100 UPPERCLASSMEN & FRESHMEN
Junior Ashleigh Ellenwood and freshmen Nicole Ortega and Jessi Hartzler were named among Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Women's National Top 100 Upperclassmen and Freshmen. Ellenwood, who clocked in at the No. 54 spot on the Preseason list, was No. 47 on the Midseason list.

Rookies Hartzler and Ortega were ranked 52nd and 92nd, respectively.

• Click HERE to view the TDS Women’s National Top 100 List.
• Click HERE to view the TDS Women’s Freshmen Top 100 List

HOME COOKIN’
The Razorbacks have arguably one of the best home-field advantages in country. Averaging 1,359 fans per home contest, the Razorbacks rank fourth in the SEC in average home attendance.

1. Texas A&M – 2,953/gm
2. South Carolina – 2,922/gm
3. Georgia – 1,758/gm
4. Arkansas – 1,359/gm

#SCTop10
In Arkansas’ 2-1 exhibition win over Creighton on Aug. 14, Tyler Allen’s 40-yard free kick goal in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner. After a Creighton foul, Allen stepped up for a Razorback free kick and delivered a perfectly struck ball 40-yards down field that landed in left-hand side of the goal to break a 1-1 deadlock. Allen’s goal helped Arkansas pick up a victory in a contest they statistically dominated.

Her incredible goal came in at No. 6 on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night.

On Sept. 19, Allen found herself in a similar situation. Just four minutes into the second overtime, Kentucky committed a seemingly harmless foul 35-yards out from the goal. Allen, a free kick specialist, stepped up and delivered te ball from long distance into the upper left corner of the goal to give Arkansas its first win in a SEC opener since the 2011 season.

That night Allen made the SportsCenter Top 10 for the second time this season, this time at No. 5.

For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.