Soccer Hits the Road for Thursday Night Match
10/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 21, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (6-7-1, 2-4-1 SEC) will hit the road and head to Athens, Ga. to face the No. 22 ranked Georgia Bulldogs (12-3-1, 5-3-0 SEC) on Thursday, Oct. 22. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Turner Soccer Complex. Both teams are coming off weekend splits with wins coming on Friday.
Who to Watch: Alabama junior forward Victoria Frederick paces the Crimson Tide with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Senior Kelsey King and junior Rosaly Petriello follow at seven points apiece. King has three goals and one assist to her credit while Petriello has tallied two goals and leads the team with three assists. In goal sophomore Justine Bernier sports a 1.24 goals against average and is second in the conference with 82 saves.
Last Time Out: After a convincing 2-0 win over Kentucky on Friday night the Alabama soccer team could not keep the momentum going as it fell to visiting Vanderbilt 1-0 in overtime. The Commodores scored four minutes into the first overtime period to earn the coveted three points on the road. Justine Bernier made six stops in the losing effort. UA was out-shot by VU 16-6.
Scouting Georgia: The Bulldogs enter the contest with a 12-3-1 overall record and a 5-3-0 mark in Southeastern Conference play after dropping its last match to No. 11 Florida by the score of 1-0. The Gators found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Carrie Patterson paces the Bulldogs with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. Jamie Pollock follows with 13 points on six goals and an assist while Ashley Miller leads the team with five assists. In goal Michelle Betos has played the majority of the minutes. Betos has made 63 saves and sports a 0.91 goals against average.
UGA head coach Patrick Baker is 63-33-6 in his fifth season at the helm. Bill Barker is the winningest coach in program history at 65-30-8 in five seasons from 1995-99, leaving Baker just two off the mark and three from setting the new school record. UGA returns nine starters this season along with eight seniors who have set a school record with 20 SEC wins in the last three years.
Series History: Georgia leads the all-time series against Alabama by a 9-3 margin. The Bulldogs have won four in a row against the Crimson Tide, including a 2-0 decision in Tuscaloosa last season. UGA is 3-1 all-time against UA in matches played in Athens. Alabama won back-to-back contests against Georgia, starting with a 4-1 win in 2002 at Athens and a 3-1 win in Tuscaloosa in 2004.
Goals and Wins: So far this season the Crimson Tide has played a very defensive brand of soccer but when they do find the back of the net it usually leads to a win. Alabama is 6-1 this season when it scores a goal with its only loss coming against Conference USA champion Memphis on Sept. 13. Alabama has played in five one goal games and has won four of them, posting two 1-0 shutouts over that span.
Rookie Minutes: Alabama head soccer coach Todd Bramble has had to rely heavily on his freshmen class for significant minutes in 2009. Eight newcomers have found time on the field for the Crimson Tide. Among the eight, six have earned a start. Kaitlyn Smith and Ashley Willis have started every contest for the Tide. Willis leads all position players with 1295 minutes played. Josie Rix has also started over 10 matches as she has found her way into the starting lineup 11 times.
Next Time Out: Alabama will return home to face Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. The match will be televised on Comcast Sports South with Chris Stewart and Cameron Broome calling the action.
