Alabama
Vanderbilt
Alabama Soccer Defeats Vanderbilt, 4-3, in Exhibition Season Opener
8/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Alabama soccer team outlasted Vanderbilt in its lone exhibition contest Thursday night in Nashville, defeating the Commodores by a final score of 4-3. Junior transfer Celia Jimenez, making her Crimson Tide debut, scored the game-winning goal when she converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute to propel the Tide to the victory.
First-year head coach Wes Hart was pleased with his team's performance, and is optimistic about what he saw in tonight's exhibition contest.
"It was awesome to get the first game under our belts," said Hart. "Even though it was an exhibition game, the result meant a great deal to us. As I told the team, winning is habit forming. I don't care if we're playing a small sided game at training, horseshoes the day of the game, or corn hole in my backyard. When there's competition involved, we want to win."
Four different Crimson Tide players scored, led by freshman Emma Welch, who finished with a goal and an assist on the night. Welch nearly connected for a second goal in the early minutes of the second half.
"Emma showed a great deal of composure scoring her first collegiate goal on a great feed from Lacey (Clarida)," added Hart. "She was a bit unfortunate not to have scored to start the second half, but it was her quick thinking on a short corner kick that resulted in the equalizer. She was brilliant in the second half, causing problems with her ability to take players on the dribble. Emma and Elena (Zang) did not look like two freshmen playing their first collegiate games. They were outstanding tonight."
Alabama opened the scoring in the 12th minute when sophomore Lacey Clarida found Welch on the left wing who took advantage of a one-on-one breakaway with the goalkeeper, and slid the ball to the center of the net to give the Tide the early lead.
"I was really excited about the opportunity to start tonight's game, and couldn't be more excited about scoring my first goal," said Welch. "Lacey (Clarida) got the ball at her feet and completely turned the girl around before she slipped the ball to me. I slid before the keeper got there and thankfully it went in."
Vanderbilt answered just over 17 minutes later, as the Commodores' Simone Charley connected on an eight-yard score from the middle of the penalty box to tie the game at 1-1 in the 29th minute. The Commodores would move ahead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, when Lina Granados corralled a long pass and beat Alabama goalkeeper Emily Rusk from 20-yards out into the left corner of the net to give Vanderbilt the halftime lead.
The Tide burst out of the gates in the second half, scoring two goals in an eight-minute span between the 51st and 58th minutes to retake the lead at 3-2. Junior Jordan Meier scored the first goal of the second half for the Tide, heading home a pass from freshman Elena Zang at the edge of the penalty box. Sophomore Lacey Clarida put the Tide ahead just minutes later, combing with Welch to tap in the cross from five yards away from the net.
Vanderbilt would eventually tie things up for the third time on the night in the 69th minute, as Charley scored an unassisted goal from eight yards out into the far left corner of the goal.
With only 10:56 remaining in the contest, Alabama's Celia Jimenez was taken down in the box and rewarded a penalty kick with the match on the line. Jimenez, a junior transfer from Iowa Western Community College, converted the penalty, resulting in the final score.
Tonight's back-and-forth affair featured four lead changes throughout the game's 90 minutes, including three in the final 33 minutes. The Tide produced 13 shots throughout the game, 10 of which came in the second half.
Hart added, "As pleased as I am with tonight's performance, I realize there is still a lot of work to do. We were impatient too often in the first half, but I thought we did a much better job in the second half trying to possess the ball and control the tempo in their half of the field. We will address some things tomorrow and continue working as we prepare for our first game against Memphis."
Alabama officially opens the 2015 campaign next Friday, Aug. 21, when it travels to take on the Memphis Tigers. Following that match, the Tide will play its first home game of the season when it hosts Troy on Aug. 23 at the Alabama Soccer Complex. Both contests are slated to kick off at 7 p.m. CT.
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