Tide Soccer Hits the Road in Conference Play
10/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
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The University of Alabama soccer team will take to the road this weekend as the Crimson Tide (10-3-1, 1-2-1) travels to Louisiana and Arkansas to take on the Tigers (10-2-1, 2-1-1) and the Lady Backs (5-10, 1-3).
The Tide, which currently sits in fourth place in the SEC West division, is looking to make ground on current division leader Auburn in vying for a spot for the 2003 SEC Tournament.
"This weekend will go a long way in telling us where we're at as far as getting into the tournament this year," said Alabama head coach Don Staley, who currently ranks 13th in NCAA history among coaches at the Division I level with 196 career victories. "I think if we go out and take care of business then we'll be close to sitting in the driver's seat as this season winds down."
The Tide will make its first stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take an LSU team it has not defeated since the 1999 season. The two teams played to a scoreless draw last year; however that doesn't look to be the case this year as both teams come into the match with the top two goal producing offenses in the SEC. Leading the way for LSU is Mandy Heintz whose 20 goals leads the conference as does her 43 points.
Dawn Nash, Katie French and Cally Morrill have all been shining stars offensively for the Tide this season as they all rank among the SEC's Top 10 in points scored this season with Nash leading the way with 27 (third best in the conference), French checking in at sixth in the SEC with 22 points and Morrill with 19 respectively.
From Baton Rouge, the Tide will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Lady Razorbacks in a series Alabama has dominated as the Crimson Tide holds a 6-2-1 advantage over Arkansas. The last time the two teams got together at Lady'Back Field it was a goal-scoring haven with Arkansas coming out on top 5-2. Alabama avenged the loss last season with a 3-2 win.
Game time for the LSU match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Friday night, while kickoff against Arkansas is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Live stats will be available by checking in at www.rolltide.com.
