Playing its first home match in nearly a month, the Georgia Bulldog soccer team’s return to the UGA Soccer Stadium for its SEC home opener wasn’t as sweet a homecoming as the squad hoped.

Georgia’s three-game SEC win streak was snapped Friday night, as the Ole Miss Rebels (9-3-0, 3-1-0 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs (10-2-1, 3-2-0 SEC) 1-0.

The match was a tale of two halves, with the Rebels controlling the run of play for the vast majority of the first period, firing six shots compared to Georgia’s three.

The Bulldogs were pinned in their defensive half for much of the first half, plagued by errant passes and poor first touches.

Mostly thanks to the stellar play of goalkeeper Michelle Betos, who made four saves in the first 45 minutes, the Bulldogs made it into the locker room still knotted at 0-0 with the Rebels.

The Rebels earned a corner kick in the 60th minute that was taken by Mallory Coleman. Coleman played a driven ball to the near post that glanced off the head of Danielle Johnson, past a diving Betos and into the Georgia net to put the Rebels ahead 1-0.

After the goal, the Bulldogs regrouped and picked up the intensity, pressuring the Ole Miss back four for the remainder of the half. Carrie Patterson nearly found the back of the net several times, on one occasion flicking the ball around an Ole Miss defender before losing her footing just outside the six-yard box before she was able to get a shot off.

For the Bulldogs though, their late resurgence was simply too little, too late.

“Credit to them [Ole Miss], you know, they found a way to stick one in the back of the net and we didn’t,” said Georgia head coach Patrick Baker.

It was a frustrating loss for the Bulldogs, who came close to scoring in the second half many times but unable to find an equalizer.

“Everyone is disappointed, everyone was working and giving everything they had at the end and then I think they just realized that it was just too late,” said Betos.

The Bulldogs have a short turnaround before they square off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the UGA Soccer Stadium.