The Bramble Era Begins Friday Night
8/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Aug. 28, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's soccer team will open its 2008 regular season slate on the road. The Crimson Tide will head to Memphis to face the Tigers on Friday, August 29 at 5:00 p.m. at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. The opening match will mark the first official fixture under the guidance of Alabama first-year head coach Todd Bramble.
"I expect the players to come out with a lot of emotion and a lot of energy," Coach Bramble said. "Just the excitement level right now you can feel that is generated within the players and the team to get the first game started is incredible. The adrenaline level is going to be extremely high early on in the game but we have to do a good job managing that because we are not going to win games or be a great team by playing on energy, adrenaline and emotion alone."
Last Time Out: The Crimson Tide got one exhibition match under its belt before the regular season opener. Alabama handled Jackson State 5-0 on Aug. 16 at the UA Soccer Complex. Sophomore forward Victoria Frederick opened some eyes by having a hand in four of the five Alabama goals. The leading scorer from a year ago recorded a hat-trick and handed out one assist in just over 60 minutes of action. Goalkeepers Kara Gudmens and Karen Lansden combined for the shutout as Alabama out-shot Jackson State 27-2.
Last Season Recap: The Crimson Tide once again rallied out of the gate to put themselves in great position with an 8-2-1 start. Alabama though got tripped up in SEC play and finished the remainder of the campaign 1-7 and ultimately to a 9-10-1 ledger. Long time Crimson Tide coach Don Staley resigned which led to the hiring of the successful Clemson coach, Todd Bramble. Two freshmen garnered SEC honors as Justine Bernier and Victoria Frederick were named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. Bernier set a school record and ranked 10th in the nation with 145 saves. Frederick paced the Crimson Tide with 13 points on five goals and three assists. Alex Butera and Kailey Corken also tallied 13 points. The duo each netted four goals and a team-leading five assists.
Season Preview: First-year head coach Todd Bramble welcomes back 18 players and all six of the top scorers from last season. Bramble also inherits a recruiting class that features eight newcomers. Alabama does face one of its toughest schedules in recent history as it will have to square up against eight teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, including the defending national champions in Southern Cal. Five tournament teams reside in the SEC and three tournament participants will face the Tide in the first five games of the season. Coach Bramble brings a time tested strategy to the Capstone. At Clemson, Bramble led the Lady Tigers to seven-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Scouting Memphis: Memphis is coming off a 2007 season that saw them win 17 matches en route to a conference USA title and a NCAA Tournament berth. The Tigers lost 1-0 in the first round to UNC Greensboro. Memphis returns its top two leading scorers from a year ago. Kylie Hayes led the squad with 25 points on 11 goals and three assists while Emiko Schwab tallied 19 points on seven goals and five assists. In between the pipes Memphis will have to turn to Elise Kuhar-Pitters after the loss of Isabel Briones. Kuhar-Pitters only logged 74 minutes last season but did start off the 2008 campaign with a shutout. The Tigers opened its season with a 2-0 win against Western Kentucky. In that contest, Hayes scored the game-winner. As a team, Memphis scored 56 goals and held opponents to just 19 last year. The Tigers averaged 2.48 goals per game while the opposition was held to a 0.84 ledger.
Alabama vs. Memphis: The Series: Friday's meeting will marks the third time the two squads have squared off. Each match has seen the visitor post a 2-0 victory on unfriendly soil. Last season the Tigers came to Tuscaloosa and shut out the Crimson Tide 2-0 on Sept. 16. In 2006 the Crimson Tide handed the Tigers a 2-0 loss in Memphis.
"They are definitely a very good team in possession, they are real technical and their movement off the ball is very good," Bramble said. "So defensively we are going to have to be organized and compact and keep their players in check because they can pass the ball around quickly and get behind you if you are not organized and playing as a team defensively. To start off the season and play such a high quality opponent in the defending conference USA champ and a NCAA Tournament team, to have that measuring stick right off the bat to see where we are and where we need to get to I would not rather have it any other way."
Alabama Picked Fourth in the West: The Alabama Crimson Tide has been picked to finish fourth in the SEC Western Division as announced by the SEC preseason coaches poll. In the West, LSU was first with 62 total points (seven first-place votes) compared to Auburn's 59 points (five first-place votes). LSU returns nine starters from last year's squad that won the SEC Western Division with a 5-2-4 ledger in league play. Ole Miss also returns nine starters from 2007, including First Team All-SEC selection Danielle Johnson. The Crimson Tide finished with a 2-8-1 SEC mark, earning wins over Kentucky and Arkansas.
Season Openers: The Alabama Crimson Tide has posted a 13-4 record on opening day. In opening matches on the road Alabama is 6-4, including a 3-1 win last season to open the campaign in Pennsylvania against Robert Morris. In that contest, returners Brooke Rogers and Carly Mygrants found the back of the net while Jessica Deegan and Grace Lawson stamped their names on the score sheet with a trio of assists.
Non-Conference Action: Alabama has had a lot of success in non-conference play. In the last five seasons the Crimson Tide has posted a 29-14 mark against non league opponents. Last season Alabama posted a 7-2 record in non-conference matches and in 2005 the Crimson Tide went 6-1 before the start of league play.
Returning Honorees: Head coach Todd Bramble inherits a relatively young team that has some SEC award winners among them. Sophomore forward Victoria Frederick returns after leading the team in points and in goals. For her effort the Huntsville, Ala. native was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. In goal, Justine Bernier also garnered SEC freshmen honors after breaking the school record in saves with 145. Bernier tallied 16 saves to break the Alabama Soccer Complex record against Tennessee on Oct. 25. Senior Kailey Corken excelled not just on the field but off it as she was named to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American Team.
Bernier Helps Canada to U-20 World Cup: Alabama sophomore goalkeeper Justine Bernier (Oakville, Ontario) kept busy over the summer by representing her country and getting to travel the world in doing so. Bernier and team Canada sailed through the CONCACAF women's under-20 championship to earn the title by the way of a 1-0 decision over rival USA in Mexico. The Alabama single season record holder in saves has been in the team Canada pool at the U-16, U-17, and U-18 levels. Team Canada secured a trip to Chile this November for the U-20 World Cup.
Youth Movement: Four of the seven top scorers from last season were just freshmen and six of the seven returns this season. The quartet of Victoria Frederick, Carly Mygrants, Rosaly Petriello and Brooke Rogers enter their second season at the Capstone. Frederick led Alabama in points and goals while Mygrants also netted a team-high five goals. Petriello ranked third on the squad with nine points on three goals and three assists while Rogers tallied eight points, which ranked fourth on the team with three goals and two assists.
Six Seniors Look to Cap Off Alabama Career: On top of the youth that helped lead Alabama in the point category last season, head coach Todd Bramble also has some veteran leadership to lean on during the transition process. Coach Bramble is welcomed to the bench by six seniors. Two seniors will anchor the backfield in Colleen Posey and Cara Kelly while at the midfield seniors Jessica Deegan, Callie Pike Kailey Corken and Jamie Zimmerman look to command the field for the Crimson Tide.
Next Time Out: Alabama will return to Tuscaloosa to open its home slate against Jacksonville State on Sunday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. at the UA Soccer Complex. Next week Alabama will log the frequent flyer miles as the Crimson Tide heads to the Los Angeles area to play two matches. UA will open the trip on Friday, Sept. 5 against Cal State Fullerton and then play the reigning national champions in USC on Sunday, Sept. 7.
