Soccer to Cap Off Week Against Chattanooga
9/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 3, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (2-1) will compete in its lone match of the week as it will face Chattanooga (1-3) on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 1 p.m. at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. The Crimson Tide is coming off its first loss of the season while the Lady Mocs, who will also only play one match this week, is coming off a 2-0 loss at Austin Peay.
LAST TIME OUT
Alabama dropped its first match of the season despite firing off its most shots in a single game since 2008. The Crimson Tide fell to the Furman Paladins, 3-0, despite holding them to only five attempts. The freshmen duo of Molly Atherton and Kendall Khanna combined to fire off 11 shots, with Atherton ripping off a game-high six shots on the night. Junior goalkeeper Laura Nicholls made her first career start in goal for the Crimson Tide as Justine Bernier was away on international duty with the Canadian National Team.
WHO TO WATCH
Alabama senior forward Brooke Rogers continues to lead the Crimson Tide in points with four, scoring two goals. Rogers scored her two goals in the first 10 minutes of the first two matches of the season. Fellow senior Rosaly Petriello follows with two points on a single goal. Petriello connected on a penalty shot, which proved to be the game-winner against Samford in the season opener.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
The Lady Mocs enter Tuscaloosa with a 1-3 overall record, and have dropped their last two matches. UTC has been out-scored 7-4 on the season and 6-2 away from Chattanooga. The Lady Mocs sport an 0-3 record away from their campus. Donna-Kay Henry leads the team in points with four, scoring two goals. Kerbi Towry and Kelly Downs have both added a goal apiece. Last season the Lady Mocs finished with a 7-8-1 overall record.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will be meeting for the fifth time in program history. It will mark the fourth time the two teams have met in Tuscaloosa. Alabama holds a 3-1 all-time advantage and a 2-1 mark in Tuscaloosa. The last time the two teams squared off was in head coach Todd Bramble's inaugural year at the helm, where the Tide earned a 5-0 victory at the Alabama Soccer Stadium on Sept. 19, 2008. Senior Victoria Frederick was one of three Tide players to score in that contest.
BERNIER PARTICPATES IN TEAM CANADA TRAINING CAMP
Alabama junior goalkeeper Justine Bernier is participating in the Canadian women's national team training camp, being held in Roma, Italy. Bernier is one of 24 players invited to the camp as the team prepares for the 2011 World Cup, being held in Germany. Bernier played in two matches before her departure, sporting a 2-0 record with a 0.50 goals against average and 12 saves while adding a shutout.
GHANA RECAP
The Alabama soccer team got to participate in a rare opportunity as it faced off against the Ghana U-17 national team in a friendly exhibition on Monday, Aug. 30. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie during regulation but then went to penalty kicks where Ghana sealed the victory. In three exhibition matches this fall, Alabama has netted eight goals.
UNDERCLASSMEN
In the last match against Furman, Alabama head coach Todd Bramble turned to five underclassmen to get the starting nod. Of the five underclassmen, three were freshmen, as Kendall Khanna, Molly Atherton and Courtney Pixler were among the starting 11. Pixler and Khanna earned their first career starts in that contest. Overall 11 underclassmen have found time on the pitch for the Crimson Tide in 2010.
SCHEDULE NOTE
The Alabama soccer team is quietly playing a tough non-conference schedule in 2010. Of the seven matches played before Southeastern Conference play, five of those teams won 10 or more contests in 2009. Samford only lost one match last season while Memphis earned 16 wins. UAB, Furman, and Middle Tennessee each had over 10 wins a year ago.
NEXT TIME OUT
Alabama will return to a two-match weekend schedule as it will hit the road to start the week and return home to cap off the week. The Crimson Tide will head to Memphis, Tenn., to face the Tigers on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. UA will then return home to host Middle Tennessee State on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m.
