Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Soccer Hosts Ole Miss Before Traveling to Missouri
10/5/2016 3:26:00 PM | Soccer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama soccer team enters the midway point of its Southeastern Conference schedule on Thursday when it takes on Ole Miss in a match that is set to start at 7 p.m. CT at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The Crimson Tide will then hit the road for its next match, as it travels to Columbia, Mo., to square off with Missouri at 1 p.m. CT. Alabama enters the weekend with an overall 7-4-1 record and a 2-2-1 mark in league play.
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Live Stats: RollTide.com
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Watch: SEC Network+
Twitter: @Alabama Soccer
PROMOTIONS
Admission is free for all fans and students. Thursday night's match is being promoted as 'Experience Thursday Nights Under The Lights/Club Soccer Night'. Students who attend will receive Crimson Tide Reward points. Local soccer recreation leagues and club soccer teams are invited to attend the match. Scarfs will be given away at the match. Fans who attend all four Thursday Night Matches will be eligible to enter to win a grand prize of a cooler, official game soccer ball and an Alabama Soccer flag. After this Thursday's match, all of those fans will be contacted and invited to the last match of the season to be entered to win the grand prize.
SEASON CAPSULE
In the first two weekends of play, Alabama registered wins over Sam Houston State, 5-0, Murray State, 4-2, Campbell, 4-0 and Chattanooga, 1-0, earning a 4-0 record to begin the season. During the third weekend of play, the Crimson Tide was topped by No. 20 USF, 1-0, before it went on to shutout Florida Gulf Coast, 1-0. The 1-0 shutout over FGCU marked the fourth shutout of the season, which is the most shutouts through the first six games of a campaign since the 2012 season.
To begin Southeastern Conference play, Alabama topped the Tennessee Volunteers, 5-1, in Knoxville, Tenn. The win over Tennessee marks the first SEC road opener victory since the 2014 season, when the Tide defeated Tennessee in a 1-0 decision that went into double-overtime. Moreover, Alabama's win over the Volunteers was also significant in the fact that it marks the largest margin of victory in an SEC opener in program history. It's also the second largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent in program history, behind the 5-0 win over LSU in the 1997 season. With the Tennessee victory, Alabama improved to an overall 6-1 record marking the best start since the 2005 season.
The Tide lost to the Samford Bulldogs, 1-0, to conclude its non-conference portion of the schedule falling to an overall 6-2 record.
Alabama tied conference foe Kentucky, 1-1, in its second league match that went to double-overtime, moving the Tide's overall record to 6-2-1 and 1-0-1 in league play. The hour and 50 minute affair marked the first time since the 2005 season that Alabama and Kentucky played each other in a match that went into double-overtime.
The Tide registered its third loss of the season to then-No. 15 Arkansas, 2-1, in another match that was decided in sudden death overtime. Alabama played its third consecutive match that was decided in sudden death overtime when it upset No. 14 Texas A&M, 2-1. The win over the Aggies marked the first time the Tide has recorded a victory over a ranked Southeastern Conference opponent since the 2014 season. Moreover, it is Alabama's first time to defeat Texas A&M since the 1995 season. Additionally, it is the first win over a top-25 opponent since Hart has taken the reigns. The victory over Texas A&M also marked the seventh win of the season, making the Tide two wins shy of breaking into the program's top-10 single seasons wins list.
Last weekend, Alabama fell at Mississippi State, 1-0, in its lone match of the weekend moving the overall record to 7-4-1 and 2-2-1 in league play.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
Alabama's impressive play has earned national attention, as the team is ranked in the top 100 in many different major categories. The offense in particular has earned national notoriety, as it is ranked the No. 55 in scoring offense in the nation averaging 2.0 goals per game. Alabama's 24 goals this season ranks No. 51 in the NCAA, while the Tide is ranked No. 64 in points per game, averaging 5.5. In regards to winning percentage, the Tide is ranked No. 90 with a 0.625 percentage. The offensive regime is also ranked No. 59 in the nation in total points with 66.
The Tide has four individuals who have earned national attention with their performances thus far this season. Junior Lacey Clarida is tied for No. 35 in the NCAA in game-winning goals with three. Sophomores Abbie Boswell and Emma Welch are tied for No. 19 in the country in total assists with six and they are also tied for No. 33 in assists per game, averaging 0.50. Clarida and Boswell are tied for No. 94 in total goals with six, and Boswell is No. 54 in total points with 18 so far this season. Junior goalkeeper Kat Stratton is nationally ranked in two categories between the posts. Stratton is tied for No. 111 in shutouts with three this year and she is No. 64 in goals against average with a slim 0.834 average.
LEADING THE SEC
Alabama ranks in the top five in three major offensive categories in the Southeastern Conference. The Tide is fifth in shots with 217, and the Alabama defense is third in goals allowed with ten. The Tide is third in goals against average (0.81).
Individually, the Tide has student-athletes that are ranked in the top-five in five different categories. Welch and Boswell are tied for fourth in total assists with six, and the pair is tied for fifth in assists per game averaging 0.50. Clarida is third in game-winning goals with three. Defensively, Stratton is ranked in the top-five in two categories. The gifted goalkeeper is runner-up in save percentage (0.831),) and she is third in goals against average (0.83).
In SEC play, Alabama is ranked in the top five in two key categories. The Tide's offense is fifth in goals (9) and goals per game (1.80). Individually, Alabama has three players that are ranked in the top five in four different categories. Junior midfielder Chatham DeProspo and Boswell are tied for third in the league in goals (3), goals per game (0.60), while sophomore midfielder Emma Welch is second in assists (3) and assists per game (0.60).
The Tide's 2-2-1 mark in league play has it sitting in seventh place in the SEC.
NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER RPI
The 2016 Alabama soccer team is making a case to be mentioned among the most improved teams in NCAA Division I this season. After ending the 2015 season with only five total wins (5-12-2), the Crimson Tide has surpassed last year's win total as it boasts a record of 7-4-1 during the current campaign.
Alabama was ranked No. 69 in this week's RPI rankings marking the third time it has been in the top-100 this year. The set of rankings that came out had the Tide at No. 75, and the second set had it at No. 51. In comparison, Alabama finished with a No. 213 RPI ranking a year ago.
UNDER HEAD COACH WES HART
The Crimson Tide is in its second year under the helm of Wes Hart. Hart's inaugural season had a major focus on transition and the future of the program. Highlights from his inaugural season included Hart's first win as a head coach that came in the home opener against Troy (Aug. 23, 2015), handing Wake Forest its first shutout of the year (Aug. 28, 2015), giving LSU its first loss of the season (Sept. 11, 2015) in the 3-2 double overtime comeback win and a hard fought double overtime win at Georgia (Oct. 16, 2016), which marked Hart's first road win.
Home game attendance increased significantly in Hart's first season, as the Tide drew over 719 fans per game – the largest average since the 2012 season. The Alabama Soccer Complex saw a crowd of 1,575 for its first game against Troy (Aug. 23, 2015), the second-highest single-game home attendance in program history. Fans then answered the call to keep attendance in the quadruple digits later that week against Wake Forest (Aug. 28, 2015), when 1,007 fans packed the Soccer Complex.
The 5-0 victory against Sam Houston State marks Hart's first win in a season opener with the Tide. So far in Hart's second campaign, the Tide has outshot its opponents by an impressive 160-75 margin and it has compiled 20 goals compared to the opponents five. Alabama has tallied 16 assists limiting its opponents to three, and it has picked up 56 total points while holding its opponents to just 13 points. The Tide also dominates the corner kick category, where it has a substantial lead on the opposition, 50-16. With the shutout against Florida Gulf Coast, Hart has registered ten shutouts since he arrived to Tuscaloosa. Alabama defeated Tennessee, 5-1, to begin SEC play. The 5-1 decisive victory over Tennessee marks the largest recorded win over an SEC opponent in program history. With the win over Tennessee, Alabama improved to an overall 6-1 record marking the best start since the 2005 campaign (6-1). The victory also marks the first SEC road opener victory since the 2014 season, when the Tide defeated Tennessee in a 1-0 decision that went into double-overtime. Moreover, Alabama's win over the Volunteers was also significant in the fact that it marks the largest margin of victory in an SEC opener in program history. It's also the second largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent in program history, behind the 5-0 win over LSU in the 1997 season. Hart picked up his first career win over a top-25 opponent last Sunday, when Alabama registered an upset win over No. 14 Texas A&M in a match that was decided in sudden death overtime. Moreover, it is Alabama's first time to defeat Texas A&M since the 1995 season. Additionally, it is the first win over a top-25 opponent since Hart has taken the reigns. The victory over Texas A&M also marked the seventh win of the season, making the Tide two wins shy of breaking into the program's top-10 single seasons wins list.
SERIES HISTORY – OLE MISS
When Alabama and Ole Miss face each other on Thursday, it will mark the 23rd meeting between the two schools in a series that dates back to the 1995 season. The Tide trails in the series 15-7. Last year, Alabama lost to the Rebels, 3-2, in Oxford, Miss. The Tide has posted a 5-5 mark when facing Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa. Ole Miss enters Tuscaloosa with an overall 7-6 record including a 2-3 mark in league play.
SERIES HISTORY – MISSOURI
Sunday's match against Missouri will mark just the fourth time the two programs have played each other. Alabama trails the series 2-1. Last year, the Tide lost to the Tigers, 2-1, in a match that was decided by a golden goal. Missouri enters the weekend with a 8-4 record including a 3-2 mark in SEC play.
COMING UP
The Tide will return home after its match against Missouri, as it is set to take on Georgia on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. CT at the Alabama Soccer Complex. That match is marketed as the Power of Pink match, and we will also recognize our senior class on the team. The first 100 fans get a Power of Pink shirt and a shaker.
