Alabama
Ole Miss
Alabama Soccer Shuts Out Ole Miss, 1-0, in Regular Season Finale
10/26/2017 11:05:00 PM | Soccer
Senior Hailey Brohaugh tallies the game-winner in the 106th minute to propel the Tide past the Rebels
OXFORD, Miss. – In a back-and-forth battle under the lights, the Alabama women's soccer team silenced the Mississippi Rebels, 1-0, in the 106th minute after senior Hailey Brohaugh netted the game-winner off a penalty kick. The Crimson Tide (12-6-1, 4-5-1 SEC) picked up its fourth consecutive conference win as the Rebels (10-5-3, 3-5-2 SEC) suffered their fifth loss of the season.
Thursday's win snapped a six-game losing streak to the Rebels and marked the first victory in Oxford since Alabama shut out Ole Miss, 3-0, in 1997. Furthermore, the Tide's four-game win streak over conference opponents is the first such streak in program history since 1998, while Alabama's 12 wins are the most victories recorded in a single season since 2002.
"What a huge win for the program," coach Wes Hart said. "Especially looking back at where we were two weeks ago, sitting in 13th place. Our backs have been against the wall, and we have responded well. Winning four games in the SEC is not an easy task, with two of them coming on the road in difficult places. We have beaten teams that I have not beaten before [Mississippi State, Arkansas, Missouri and Ole Miss], so these were all first-time wins for me as a head coach."
"To have finished my first year here in 14th place with only five wins and 12 losses, then improve in year two, finishing in ninth place in the league, and this year improve again, jumping up to seventh in the SEC with a 12-6-1 record shows that we are moving in the right direction and the future is bright at Alabama," coach Hart said.
The first half started off slow as the Crimson Tide put up its only shots of the half in the first 13 minutes and traded possession of the ball for the next 10 minutes.
The Rebels threatened to take the lead in the 24th minute after the Tide committed a foul 20 yards outside the box, but the header missed wide right.
In the 35th minute, the Rebels threatened to take the lead again, dribbling past a Tide defender, but redshirt freshman goalkeepr Alex Plavin slid on the ground to knock the ball away to keep Ole Miss off the board.
In the final five minutes of the half, Ole Miss controlled the ball on Alabama's side of the pitch and kept the Tide on its toes, but Plavin came up big in the net, stopping several of the Rebels' attempts toward the goal to end the half scoreless.
Ole Miss picked up where they left off, controlling the ball in the opening minutes of the second half and firing out four shots, including one in the 58th minute that ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced inches away from crossing the goal line, but Plavin grabbed it before the ball advanced any further.
The Tide earned its first great opportunity of the second stanza drawing a corning kick in the 68th minute to set up a shot on goal by junior Christina Maartensson, but her shot was saved by the Rebel keeper.
In the final five minutes of regulation, Alabama earned back-to-back corner kicks, but nothing would fall through, and the game went into overtime.
After the first extra period ended without a goal, Alabama controlled possession of the ball on the Rebels' side of the field and drew a foul inside the box for a penalty kick. With the game on the line, Brohaugh closed out the match and tallied her first goal and game-winner of the season to propel the Tide past the Rebels.
The Rebels outshot the Tide, 13-8, in the conference showdown, but the Tide edged the Rebels, 5-4, in shots on goal.
In the first collegiate match of her career, Plavin started in goal for the Tide and registered four saves and her first conference win at Alabama.
Alabama will compete in the 2017 SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala on Sunday, Oct. 29 as the seventh seed and will play 10th-seed Missouri at 1 p.m. CT. Sunday'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.
