Alabama Soccer Opens Home Portion of Schedule
9/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
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Following a four-match season opening road trip, the University of Alabama soccer team will finally get an opportunity to show off its skills in front of the home fans as the Tide plays host to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Arkansas State Indians this weekend.
"We're very excited as a team and staff to be back in the confines of our own complex and in front of our wonderful fans," said Alabama Head Coach Don Staley. "However, I'm glad we started with such a long road swing. I think it was very beneficial in that we learned a lot about our personnel and I believe it really prepped us for what we'll face in the SEC."
The Tide does not have much history with either team, but it does hold a 1-0 record against both the Golden Eagles and the Indians. The last time Alabama and Tennessee Tech got together, during the 1997 season, the Crimson Tide came away with a 5-0 victory while holding the Golden Eagles without a shot the entire match.
Tennessee Tech has a very experienced coach in Patrick Farmer, who is in his first year with the Golden Eagles, having coached perennial power Penn State and in the WUSA professional ranks.
"Tennessee Tech will be an extremely organized team," said Staley. "They're one of the top teams in their conference and we'll have to be at the top of our game if we want to have any success against them."
Bama does have some holdovers on the team that defeated Arkansas State 3-1 in Jonesboro during the 2001 season. Current senior co-captain Katie Holtzapfel scored the golden goal that day and current junior Katie French also added a goal in the victory.
Alabama is starting to look more like the team that Staley saw during the preseason as it gets more players back from nagging injuries. Starters Cally Morrill and Lauren Imwalle will be closer to 100% than they have been all season.
"We're still trying to find our identity and a permanent lineup," said Staley. "But we feel every move we make is getting us that much closer to being ready for when the SEC season rolls around."
Senior Dawn Nash leads the Tide offense with four goals and eight points. Redshirt sophomore Laura Lowman has been a steady force in the nets for the Tide as she recorded her sixth career shutout last weekend against Northern Arizona, moving her into fourth on the all-time Alabama shutout list. She enters Friday night's match with a 2.00 GAA and a 2-2 record.
In addition to being the opening home match of the season for Alabama, Friday night's match will be surrounded with more pomp and circumstance as free food will be served prior to the start of the match. There will be a special presentation at halftime and Friday night is also YMCA Night and Tuscaloosa Elementary School Night. Staley and the team will provide a free soccer clinic to which ever area elementary school brings the most fans to the match.
Kickoff against Tennessee Tech is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Friday, while the Crimson Tide and the Indians will square off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
