Alabama
Arkansas
Alabama Soccer Travels to Arkansas before Hosting Missouri
10/18/2017 1:53:00 PM | Soccer
The Tide will face the Razorbacks on Thursday and the Tigers on Sunday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will continue its conference slate on the road on Thursday, Oct. 19 at Arkansas at 7 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide will return to Tuscaloosa for the final home game of the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 22 to face Missouri at 6 p.m. CT at the Alabama Soccer Complex. Both matches will air live on SEC Network +.
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Live Stats: Thursday - arkansasrazorbacks.com/Sunday - rolltide.com
Radio: Thursday - N/A/Sunday - WVUA-FM Sports
Watch: Thursday & Sunday - SEC Network +
Twitter: @Alabama Soccer
MATCH RECAP
Alabama (9-6-1, 1-5-1 SEC) picked up its first Southeastern Conference win of the year by defeating Mississippi State, 3-2, in a double-overtime thriller on Sunday evening at the Alabama Soccer Complex. Junior Abbie Boswell scored the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute to push the Crimson Tide past the Bulldogs.
Sunday marked the Tide's first win over the Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa since 2010 and the first overtime victory over MSU in program history.
Three Crimson Tide student-athletes booted in goals to give Alabama three more points in the conference standings. On Senior Day, senior Alexis Mouton opened up the match netting her first goal of the season in the 28th minute. Freshman Casey Wertz scored her third goal of the year to put the Tide up by two, and Boswell tallied her sixth goal of 2017 to solidify the win.
Alabama held the 1-0 lead to start the second half and extended its advantage with a goal from Wertz in the 49th minute. Mississippi State rallied with a pair of goals within two minutes of each other to force the game into overtime after 90 minutes of action.
After the first overtime period ended without a score, Boswell netted her second game-winner of the season off of the assist from junior Kayla Mouton two minutes into the second overtime to give the Tide the victory.
2017 SEC PLAY
Despite scoring multiple goals during the non-conference slate, Alabama has only scored six goals against SEC opponents so far and has suffered four shutout losses to top-25 opponents South Carolina (3), Florida (6), Tennessee (25) and Texas A&M (19).
The Tide picked up its first conference win of the season on Oct. 15 when Alabama outlasted Mississippi State, 3-2, in double overtime. Junior Abbie Boswell delivered the game-winning tally less than two minutes into the second extra-period.
Overall, the Tide has been outscored, 15-6, but has put up a whopping 122 shots, which ranks third in the conference, including a season-high of 44 against LSU (Sept. 21). Goalkeeper Kat Stratton has registered 23 saves in 661:51 minutes.
NON-CONFERENCE CAMPAIGN
Alabama wrapped up its 2017 non-conference tilt 8-1, which is the best non-conference performance in school history since 2002 when the Tide went 9-1.
The Tide outscored its opponents 20-8, outshot its non-conference foes 169-78 and put 76 shots on frame to their opponents' 35.
Goalkeeper Kat Stratton and the Alabama defense silenced four teams with a total of seven goals and held its opponents to 0.89 goals per game.
Alabama recorded its best non-conference match in the season opener against Jacksonville State where the Tide topped the Gamecocks, 5-1. Senior Chatham DeProspo led the Tide in scoring with two goals, while juniors Kayla Mouton and Emma Welch along with freshman Nicole Lyubenko all contributed one score apiece. The Tide put up 16 shots in the second half on the way to its four goals and eventually finished the night with 34 shots to the Gamecocks' five. Stratton made three saves in the effort.
ALABAMA BY THE NUMBERS
Alabama has held an edge over its opponents scoring five more goals than their contenders (26-21) while launching 123 more shots (291-168) and putting 47 more shots on goal (120-73) than their foes. The Tide averages 1.63 goals per game and 18.2 shots per game.
In 1475:21 minutes of play, goalkeeper Kat Stratton has turned in a 1.28 goals against average and has registered 51 saves and four shutouts.
BOSS-WELL LEADING THE HERD
Similar to last year, junior Abbie Boswell has emerged as the team's top goal scorer with six on the year, tallying a pair of goals in two games this season against Troy (Sept. 3) and Auburn (Oct. 10).
The Illinois native has played in all 16 games this season and has amassed a team-high of 14 points.
In conference play, Boswell ranks amongst the top players in four offensive categories including shots (t-5th), shots per game (t-6th), goals (t-9th) and goals per game (t-9th). Furthermore, Boswell is tied with 15 other student-athletes for the most goals scored in a conference game (2).
FRESHMEN TAKING THE LEAD
The Tide freshmen have made huge impacts on the team, scoring eight of Alabama's 26 goals, and seven freshmen have earned at least one start. Taylor Morgan ties for second on the team in goals (3) and ranks second in shots (37), while Casey Wertz sits second in goals (3) along with Morgan, leads the team in shots on goal (20) and boasts the best shots on goal percentage after 16 games (.625).
Brynn Martin has played a crucial role in the Tide's back core, by helping Alabama shutout four of its opponents and keep its foe's to 1.31 goals per game. At the midway point of the season, Martin was recognized as one of the top 100 freshman to watch according to Topdrawersoccer.com as the site ranked her at No. 49.
IN THE SEC
The Tide leads the conference in shots (291) and rounds out the top 10 in corner kicks (2nd), points (t-5th), assists (t-6th), goals (t-6th), assists per game (7th), saves (t-7th) and goals per game (8th). Furthermore, Alabama's 44-shot performance against LSU is a conference team-high, beating out Arkansas' 43 shots against Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 3).
Individually, junior Emma Welch is tied for sixth in assists (6) and is tied for ninth in assists per game (0.43), while senior Celia Jimenez Delgado is tied for 10th in assists (5). Junior Abbie Boswell ranks eighth in shots (43) and is tied for ninth in goals (6). Lastly, goalkeeper Kat Stratton leads the conference in goalie minutes played (1475:21), ranks fifth in saves (51), seventh in saves per game (3.19) and is tied for seventh in eighth (4).
IN THE RANKINGS
Alabama was ranked in several national polls for four-straight weeks after its victory over Florida State on Aug. 27. The Tide first appeared on Soccer America's top-25 list at No. 24 on Aug. 29 and received its highest ranking on the Soccer America list on Sept. 12 after topping Kennesaw Tech and Tennessee Tech (No. 19). Alabama also received votes on TopDrawerSoccer.com's top-25 rankings and NSCAA's top-25 poll during the same time frame.
In the fifth NCAA Ratings Percentage Index of the year, the Tide dropped down three spots to No. 24.
In the region, UA remained at No. 10 for the third straight week on the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll for week nine.
Nationally, Alabama ranks inside the top 100 in nine categories including shots per game (13th), corner kicks per game (25th), shots on goal per game (50th), goals (77th), assists (78th), points (79th), assists per game (93rd), points per game (94th) and scoring offense (98th).
Individually, Kat Stratton ranks 32nd in the country in goalie minutes played (1475:21) while Emma Welch ranks 52nd in the nation in total assists (6) and 97th in assists per game (0.38).
UNDER HEAD COACH WES HART
The Crimson Tide is in its third year under the guidance of Wes Hart. In 2016, Hart implemented drastic improvements, nearly doubling the previous year's win total, and registered his first winning season at the Capstone with a 9-8-2 record. Alabama finished ninth in the conference and made its first postseason appearance at the SEC Tournament since 2014. In late September, the Tide shocked then-No. 14 Texas A&M, 2-1, for the first victory over a ranked SEC opponent since 2014 and the first win over a top-25 team under Hart.
Hart's inaugural season had a major focus on transition and the future of the program. Highlights from his first year 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 a 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 two seasons, as the Tide averaged over 719 fans per game in 2015 and 2016 – the largest average since the 2012 season. The Alabama Soccer Complex saw a crowd of 1,575 against Troy (Aug. 23, 2015), the second-highest single-game home attendance in program history.
13 NEWCOMERS
This year's squad showcases a wealth of young talent with Hart's biggest incoming class of 11 newcomers, all freshmen, and returns two redshirt freshmen and four sophomores. The Tide welcomes back 13 upperclassmen featuring six seniors and seven juniors.
UA returns nine regular starters from 2016 including points-leader Abbie Boswell and all-time top-10 goalkeeper Kat Stratton.
SERIES HISTORY – ARKANSAS
Thursday's match against Arkansas marks the 24th meeting in history between the two squads, and Alabama leads 12-8-3 in the series. In the last meeting, Alabama fell to Arkansas, 2-1, in overtime on Sept. 22, 2016.
Arkansas (8-7-1) ranks seventh in the conference with ten points thanks to a 3-3-1 record in SEC play.
Parker Goins leads the Razorback offense with eight goals, 20 points, 41 shots, 23 shots on goal and four game-winning tallies. In the conference, Goins is tied for fourth in goals and fifth in goals per game (0.57). Goalkeeper Jordan Harris and Rachel Harris have combined for 43 saves and seven shutouts.
The Razorbacks ended its 2016 campaign 18-5-1 and finished third in the conference with an 8-3 record. Arkansas appeared in its first SEC Tournament final last year since 1996 and ended the season falling to Clemson, 4-2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas returns 12 starters to 2017.
SERIES HISTORY – MISSOURI
Sunday's match against Missouri marks the fifth meeting in history between the two squads, and Alabama trails 1-3 in the series. In the last meeting, Alabama fell to Missouri, 2-0, on Oct. 9, 2016. The Tide defeated the Tigers for the first time on Oct. 19, 2014, 1-0, in Columbia, Mo.
Missouri (6-9-1) is tied for ninth in the SEC with a 2-5-0 record and has picked up conference wins against Georgia, 3-1, and Kentucky, 2-1.
Four different Tigers have notched five goals apiece with Sarah Luebbert leading the way with five assists, 15 points, 32 shots and 18 shots on goal. In the net, Kelsey Dossey and Kristen Rivers have combined for 72 saves.
Missouri ended its 2016 campaign 11-7-2 and finished fifth in the conference with a 6-4-1 record. Mizzou returns 14 letterwinners and welcomes 10 newcomers to 2017.
COMING UP
Alabama will wrap up the regular season on the road against Ole Miss on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. CT at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium in Oxford, Miss. Thursday's match will be broadcasted live on SEC Network +.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaSoccer on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaSoccer on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
