Women’s soccer players from the Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers were ejected from an SEC Tournament game on Sunday at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.
During the second overtime of an eventual 3-0 Ole Miss win on penalties, LSU’s Maya Gordon attempted to steal the ball from the Rebels’ Ramsey Davis, who didn’t seem to like Gordon’s defense. Davis grabbed Gordon by the waist and then fists started flying, including teammates rushing from across the field to get in licks.
A wild fight broke out in the Ole Miss-LSU women's soccer SEC Tournament first-round match. Three players were ejected. pic.twitter.com/q07yHhdjr2
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 30, 2022
Davis and Gordon were throwing legit haymakers. This wasn’t a “hold me back” or “I’m about-to-knock-you-out” situation; they were swinging from jump. That’s a senior (Gordon) and a junior (Davis) lost their cools in the conference tournament was big. You expect your upperclassman and team leaders to set a tone and be level-headed.
In the video you see Gordon’s teammate Rammie Noel come from out of the screen into focus going after Davis, in defense of Gordon. Kudos for sticking up for your teammate. Bad spot to do it.
All three women were issued red cards and ejected. A red card carries a one-game suspension. Davis will miss Ole Miss’ next game in the SEC tourney. Gordon and Noel will miss LSU’s opening round game of the NCAA tournament.
After the women were sent off the field and play resumed, LSU was forced to play with nine players and Ole Miss with 10. Despite one team having a few less players on the field, the overtime period still ended 0-0.
The penalty shootout began with Ole Miss shooting first. Mo O’Connor approached the line for the Rebels and shot to her left but was denied by keeper Mollee Swift, who guessed correctly. Shannon Cooke stepped up first for LSU, but her shot to the left was saved by keeper Ashley Orkus and the score was 0-0 after one round of penalties
Kayla Chatman-Haggerty was next up to open round two; she shot a powerful penalty down the middle that bounced in under the crossbar. Defender Tilly Wilkes stepped up for the Tigers and shot to her right, but Orkus guessed the right way and denied Wilkes, to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead after two rounds.
Round three began with forward Aubrey Mister stepping up for the Rebels and sending a strong shot to the right. Swift guessed right, but Mister’s ball was struck with too much pace and snuck by her and into the back of the net to give Ole Miss a 2-0 lead. Midfielder Brenna McPartlan walked to the penalty shot and sent a shot to the left, but it was off target and sailed above the crossbar.
Price Loposer stepped up with the chance to win the match for Ole Miss and did, sending a shot to the left-corner that was too good for Swift to stop. The Rebels clinched the shootout victory at 3-0 and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the SEC tourney.
Outside of penalty kicks, the match was an even contest. Ole Miss had 16 shots to LSU’s 15. Both teams had three shots on target, and both keepers finished with three saves.
