Alabama
South Florida
Alabama Soccer to Host South Florida and No. 6/4 Florida State This Weekend
8/23/2017 11:57:00 AM | Soccer
The Tide looks to continue winning streak with a pair of home matches
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama women's soccer will host another pair of games this Thursday and Sunday at the Alabama Soccer Complex against South Florida and No. 6/4 Florida State. The Tide will face the Bulls on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. CT and will battle the Seminoles on Sunday, Aug. 27 at noon CT. Admission is free to the public for both matches.
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STRONG START TO 2017 SEASON
For the second year in a row, the Crimson Tide opened the season with a 2-0 record after registering a pair of impressive wins against Jacksonville State on Friday, Aug. 18 and Samford on Sunday, Aug. 20.
The Tide cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Gamecocks in the season opener. Chatham DeProspo led the offensive charge tallying two goals on a career-high nine shots, which ties for the third-most shots taken in a single game in program history. 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 and Emma Welch. DeProspo would later connect in the second half notching Alabama's fourth goal of the night in the triumph. Juniors Kayla Mouton and Emma Welch along with freshman Nicole Lyubenko all contributed one score apiece.
In contrast to the many goals scored on Friday, Alabama knocked in two goals to outlast the Samford Bulldogs, 2-1, on Sunday at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The Bulldogs attacked early, scoring in the first two minutes of the match, but freshman Taylor Morgan answered with a header off a cross from Jimenez Delgado. With the score tied, Kayla Mouton resumed action after a 37-minute lightning delay with the game-winner off a set piece from Welch that proved to be the difference in the game.
Alabama netted seven goals on 46 shots compared to their opponents' two goals on 18 shots with one of their tallies coming from an own goal by the Tide's defense. Senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton registered seven saves in 180:00 minutes.
SCORING CENTERBACK
Junior center back Kayla Mouton played a crucial role in Alabama's two wins over the weekend. Despite being a defender and spending most of her time in the backfield, the junior scored both of the Tide's game-winners on opening weekend. Mouton headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner to break the tie against Jacksonville State, and insured the second goal on Sunday to put the Tide on top against Samford. Mouton's pair of goals this past weekend surpasses her previous career total.
LEADING THE SEC
The Tide ranks inside the top three in seven offensive categories in the conference. Alabama sits second in shots (46) and corners (17/tied with Florida), and ranks third in points (27), goals (7), goals per game (3.50), assists (seven/tied with Auburn) and assists per game (3.50).
Chatham DeProspo tops the conference leaderboards in two categories including shots (13) and shots per game (6.50), while Kayla Mouton leads the SEC in game-winning goals (2).
IN THE RANKINGS
UA sits 14th on the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll after one week of competition.
Alabama also ranks inside the top-20 in eight offensive categories including scoring offense (t-18th), assists (t-11th), win-lost-tied percentage (t-1st), goals (t-13th), points (t-13th), assists per game (t-16th), shots per game (t-14th) and points per game (t-19th).
Kayla Mouton tops the game-winning goals list with seven other student-athletes and Chatham DeProspo ties for ninth in shots per game.
UNDER HEAD COACH WES HART
The Crimson Tide enters its third year under the guidance of Wes Hart. In 2016, Hart implemented drastic improvements, nearly doubling last 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 their 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 contender 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 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 two seasons, as the Tide averaged over 719 fans per game – 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.
Alabama started three freshmen during the preseason exhibition match, inlcuding Brynn Martin, Taylor Morgan and Kaley Verpaele. Freshmen Nicole Lyubenko and Casey Wertz, along with redshirt freshman Alex Plavin also made an appearance in the exhibition match.
SERIES HISTORY – SOUTH FLORIDA
Thursday's match against USF marks the second meeting in history between the two squads and Alabama trials the series 0-1. In the first-ever meeting, the Bulls edged the Tide in a 1-0 decision on Sept. 2, 2016 at Tampa, Fla.
The Bulls enter Thursday with a 2-0 record after defeating Charlotte in a 3-2 overtime-victory on Aug. 18 and shutting out American 3-0. AAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Evelyne Viens led the team with three goals over the weekend on 17 shots and netted the game-winning goal in the comeback win over Charlotte.
USF ended 2016 with a 12-4-3 record and won eight-straight games, leading the nation with the longest consecutive win streak of the season.
SERIES HISTORY – FLORIDA STATE
Sunday's match against Florida State marks the first-ever meeting between the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide. FSU enters this weekend ranked sixth on the NSCAA poll and fourth on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top-25 rankings after a 2-0 performance over the weekend silencing UNC Greensboro, 3-0, and topping South Alabama, 2-1. The Seminoles will be UA's 52nd ranked opponent and 12th Top-10 rival in its history.
Florida State wrapped up their 2016 campaign with a 14-4-4 record and registered a 7-0-1 home game record. The Seminoles defeated UNC, 4-3, in penalty kicks to win the ACC Soccer Championships for the fifth consecutive season and ended their year in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Utah. The Noles return 15 players including 10 starters in 2017.
SEASON OPENERS
Alabama has now won six of the last eight season openers and has outscored their opponents 25-9. The Tide has also remained undefeated in the last five season openers in Tuscaloosa, including a 5-1 win over Jacksonville State this year, notching 22 goals to their opponents' five.
In the 2015-16 seasons, the Tide silenced their competitors with six unanswered goals, 1-0 in 2015 against Troy, and 5-0 in 2016 against Sam Houston State.
Alabama's 5-0 shutout victory against Sam Houston State was the second largest margin of victory since the Tide dominated Kennesaw State in a 7-1 decision in 2011.
COMING UP
Following Sunday's match against Florida State, Alabama will embark on its first road test when they travel to Mobile, Ala., to take on South Alabama on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT and Troy on Sunday, Sept 3 at noon CT.
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.
