Alabama
Jacksonville State
Alabama Soccer Opens Season with 5-1 Victory over Jacksonville State
8/18/2017 9:43:00 PM | Soccer
The Tide scores four goals in the second half to defeat the Gamecocks
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama soccer defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 5-1, to open the 2017 fall season at the Alabama Soccer Complex on Friday night. After the first half ended in a tie, the Crimson Tide moved out to a 5-1 lead, notching four unanswered goals to propel the Tide past the Gamecocks.
"You know, clearly the goal in each of these games is to get the victory, and we certainly did that tonight, but we wanted to create chances," head coach Wes Hart said. "We talked about the importance of our mentality, to come out and be the aggressor. We set a goal to get a shot off in the first five minutes, and we did that. Our goal was to come out and be the aggressor, be the attacker, and we saw that from our group tonight."
Junior Chatham DeProspo led the Tide in scoring, placing two goals for Alabama, while juniors Kayla Mouton and Emma Welch along with freshman Nicole Lyubenko all contributed one score apiece. Senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton made three saves in the effort, with the lone Gamecock tally coming on an own goal by the Tide's defense.
DeProspo wasted no time in getting Alabama on the board, connecting in the first two minutes from inside the box off a double assist from Celia Jimenez Delgado to Emma Welch and finally DeProspo. The Crimson Tide continued to pressure the Gamecock defense, but JSU evened things up when Alabama's defense sent a header into its own goal to make it a 1-1 game at the 34th minute.
The Tide held possession of the ball for the majority of the first stanza and challenged JSU's goalkeeper frequently, edging the Gamecocks in shots, 18-2, and shots on goal at 6-3 heading into halftime.
In the second half, the game remained deadlocked until the 59th minute when Kayla Mouton headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner from Hailey Brohaugh to move the Crimson Tide out front once again, this time at 2-1. The 67th minute saw Emma Welch extend the lead, netting the ball off a deflected cross to give Alabama a two-score advantage.
In the final five minutes, Alabama netted two quick goals. After the Gamecocks drew a yellow card, freshman Kaley Verpaele put the resulting free kick into play where DeProspo would capitalize on the chance for her second goal of the night. With just over three minutes on the clock, Lyubenko scored the first goal of her career to put UA out front, 5-1, the eventual final.
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.
Alabama returns to play on Sunday, Aug. 20, as the Tide hosts Samford. The Tide and Bulldogs are scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
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