Soccer Heads to Kentucky to Begin Weekend
10/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 14, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (8-3-2, 3-1-2 SEC) will look to keep atop the Southeastern Conference Western Division standings as it heads to Lexington, Ky., to face the Wildcats (7-6-1, 1-4-1 SEC). The two teams will kick off on Friday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m., at the Kentucky Soccer Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
Alabama dropped its first match in a month as it fell to No. 15 South Carolina, 2-1 on Sunday. Two penalty kicks lifted the Gamecocks over the Crimson Tide, handing Alabama its first conference loss of the season. Kayla Grimsley scored both chances for USC. Sophomore Lindsey Sillers scored her second goal in as many weeks and freshman Ariel Armijo handed out her first career assist. The goal evened the score at one before the final penalty kick was made just three minutes before the end of the first half.
WHO TO WATCH
Alabama sophomore forward Lindsey Sillers has taken full advantage of her playing time. Sillers has netted two goals in as many weeks and has added another weapon to the Crimson Tide attack. The Birmingham, Ala., native tallied her first career goal in a win at Arkansas and then netted another goal against the Gamecocks. Both her goals have come off the bench and quickly. Her first goal came just two minutes after subbing onto the pitch and against Arkansas, and then Sillers scored her second goal in just 10 minutes after coming onto the field against the Gamecocks.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
The Wildcats enter the weekend coming off of back-to-back conference losses on the road. Kentucky sports a 5-2 record at home, but both losses came during SEC play. As a team the Wildcats have been outscored by its opponents, 16-15 and out-shot, 191-171. Individually Keldey Hunyadi leads the team with 12 points on six goals. Caitlin Landis closely follows with nine points on four goals and an assist. Taylor Parker leads the team with five assists. In goal, Sydney Hiance has played nearly every minute for the Wildcats, posting five shutouts with a 1.14 goals against average to go along with 69 saves. Kentucky finished 5-9-4 in 2009 and posted a 2-7-1 league record. Head coach Jon Lipsitz enters his second season at the helm of the Wildcat soccer program.
SERIES HISTORY
The two programs will be meeting for the 13th time as Kentucky holds an 8-4-1 all-time advantage. The two teams last met in October last season in Tuscaloosa, where the Crimson Tide earned a 2-0 victory. The last time Alabama earned a win in Lexington, was in 1998 when the Tide secured a 1-0 victory. Rosaly Petriello scored the first goal and handed out an assists on the final tally to help lead the Tide to its second conference win of the season in last year's matchup.
RACE TO ORANGE BEACH
Alabama is currently sitting in the fifth spot in the standings to reach the Southeastern Conference tournament in Orange Beach. South Carolina sits atop the seeding with 16 points while Florida and Tennessee are tied with 13 points and Georgia follows at 12 points. Vanderbilt currently resides in the eighth and final spot with seven points as three teams look to close in to the top eight with four points each. The SEC tournament will begin on Nov. 3.
WESTERN DIVISION WATCH
The Alabama soccer team has jumped out to a quick start in conference play and has done so against western division opponents. The Crimson Tide has played four of the five division opponents already and has yet to lose, holding a two-point lead in the division over Auburn. The Tide will face Auburn in the final match of the regular season on Oct. 29. With the 11 points, Alabama currently sits in fourth place in the overall SEC standings. South Carolina leads the league while Florida and Tennessee are tied for second with 13 points each. Georgia sits close behind with 12 points overall.
WHERE THEY STACK UP
Alabama junior goalkeeper Justine Bernier doesn't just lead the conference with a 0.53 goals against average but also ranks 16th in the country. She also paces the conference in save percentage and checks in at fifth in college soccer with a .921 clip. Brooke Rogers is tied for fourth in the league with seven goals and ranks tied for eighth in points with 14 while in conference play she checks in at fourth in goals (3) and eighth in points (6). Victoria Frederick ranks tied for fourth in assists with six and leads the league during conference action with five helpers.
RECORD BREAKER
Alabama junior goalkeeper Justine Bernier broke the Alabama career shutout record by tallying her 13th shutout with a clean slate at LSU. The shutout marked her fifth of the season. In the win over Arkansas, Bernier also etched her name atop the career saves record, by making 304 stops over the course of her career, besting the 301 set by Tide great Amy Pseja. With her five shutouts in 2010 Bernier is closing in on the single-season record as well. She currently ranks tied for third in the single season annals, just two behind the mark set by Carrie Warner in 1997. Victoria Frederick is also closing in on a record as she is only one assist away from tying the Alabama single season mark of seven. Frederick enters the weekend with a career-high six assists.
CAREER YEARS
Just over the halfway mark of the 2010 campaign, several members of the Crimson Tide are having career seasons. Senior Brooke Rogers has tallied seven goals, leading the team in that category and besting her previous season high of three. Fellow senior Rosaly Petriello is also putting together a career year, as the Canadian has tallied four goals, eclipsing her previous season best of three, set in 2007. Senior Victoria Frederick has also been putting together a career season but in the assist category, as she enters Sunday with a career-best six helpers. The six assists is the second largest single-season total in Alabama history and the most since Libby Probst tallied seven in 2005.
NEXT TIME OUT
Alabama will continue its weekend on the road as it will head to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt. The two teams will close out the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. Alabama will then return home for a Thursday night match against Georgia, on Oct. 22.
