Alabama
South Alabama
Alabama Soccer Travels to Mobile, Ala. to Face South Alabama and Troy
8/31/2017 11:39:00 AM | Soccer
The Tide will play the Jaguars on Friday and the Trojans on Sunday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama women's soccer faces its first road test this weekend when they travel to Mobile, Ala. to play a pair of matches. The Tide is slated to face South Alabama on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT and will battle Troy on Sunday, Sept. 3 at noon.
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STRONG START TO 2017 SEASON
Alabama (3-1) split a pair of games last weekend. After dropping a match to South Florida, 2-1, in overtime on Thursday, the Tide bounced back to knock off then-No. 6/4 Florida State, 1-0, on Sunday for its first shutout of the season. Stand-out freshmen Casey Wertz and Taylor Morgan notched Alabama's two goals and the Tide outshot its opponents 34-22.
Last Thursday's match headed to overtime knotted at 1-1, before South Florida ended the game with a goal four minutes into the extra period. Casey Wertz netted the first goal of her career in the seventh minute after Celia Jimenez Delgado induced a corner that set up Emma Welch for the assist to Wertz. Alabama outshot USF 20-7, and earned three corners to the Bulls one. Kat Stratton made one save in 94 minutes.
In a highly anticipated match, the Tide outlasted then-No. 6/4 FSU to grasp its first win over a top-10 nationally ranked opponent in school history. The triumph also marked the second win over an ACC team and coach Wes Hart's first top-10 win as a head coach. Taylor Morgan scored her second career goal in the 55th minute to propel the Crimson Tide to the crucial win over the Noles. Senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton made four saves to earn her first shutout of the season.
FRESHMEN TAKING THE LEAD
The Tide freshmen have made huge impacts on the team scoring four of Alabama's nine goals, and five have earned at least one start with Taylor Morgan, Kaley Verpaele and Brynn Martin grabbing starts in all four games. Taylor Morgan is tied for the team lead in goals (2) and is tied for second in points (4). Casey Wertz leads the team in shots on goal (8) and shots on goal percentage (.800) while ranking second in shots (10).
Kaley Verpaele has emerged as the Tide's go-to for throw-ins as her front handspring toss can travel up to 30 yards and reach inside the box to open up scoring opportunities. In the backfield, defender Brynn Martin has aided in Alabama's 3-1 record and has helped limit UA's opponents to one goal per game.
MORGAN EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
After notching the game-winning goal against then-No. 6/4 Florida State, freshman forward Taylor Morgan was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week as announced by the Southeastern Conference office on Monday, and was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week on Tuesday. The honors are the first of Morgan's career and the first for Alabama Soccer in 2017.
SCORING CENTER BACK
Junior center back Kayla Mouton played a crucial role in Alabama's two wins on opening weekend. Despite being a defender and spending most of her time in the backfield, the junior scored both of the Tide's game-winners. Mouton headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner to break the tie against Jacksonville State, and scored in similar fashion on Sunday to put the Tide on top against Samford. Mouton's pair of goals on the season surpasses her previous career total.
IN THE SEC
The Tide ranks second in the SEC in shots (80), is tied for third with Tennessee and Auburn in assists (9) and assists per game (2.25) and sits sixth in four other offensive categories including points (27), goals (9), goals per game (2.25) and corners (23).
Chatham DeProspo ranks second in the league in shots (17) and third in shots per game (4.25), while Kayla Mouton is tied with three other student-athletes for the conference lead in game-winning goals (2).
IN THE RANKINGS
Alabama received several national nods this week after their 1-0 victory over nationally-ranked Florida State to improve to a 3-1 record after four matches. The Tide ranked 24th in Soccer America Women's College Top 25 and was among five programs that were other teams considered on TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's Division I Top-25 rankings. Alabama also received eight votes in the NSCAA poll.
UA jumped from 14th to eighth on the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll after two weeks of competition.
Nationally, Alabama ranks inside the top-40 in five offensive categories including assists (20th), goals (37th), points (36th), shots per game (18th) and shots on goal per game (20th).
Kayla Mouton is tied for second in the nation in game-winning goals while Emma Welch is tied for 13th in total assists (3.0).
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 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.
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 ALABAMA
Friday's match against South Alabama marks the ninth meeting in history between the two squads and Alabama leads the series 7-1. In the last meeting, the Tide toppled the Jaguars, 9-0, on Aug. 31, 2012 in Mobile, Ala, which tied for the fourth largest margin of victory in school history.
The Jaguars enter Friday with a 0-3 record and are coming off a 2-1 loss to Murray State. Chelsea Followwell and Tiina Trutsi lead the team in scoring with one goal apiece and Justice Stanford has made ten saves in the net in 270:00 minutes.
USA ended 2016 with a 15-6-1 record, won its fourth straight Sun Belt Tournament title and made an appearance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against then-No. 11 Auburn.
SERIES HISTORY – TROY
Sunday's match against Troy will mark the fifth meeting between the two squads with Alabama holding a 4-0 advantage over the Trojans. In total, Alabama has outscored Troy 21-0 in the series with the last shutout victory landing on Aug. 23, 2015 where the Tide defeated the Trojans, 1-0. Sunday's showdown will also mark the first time a game in the series will be played outside of Tuscaloosa.
Troy owns a 2-3 record and is coming off a 9-0 victory over Jackson State. Sophomore Julia Winter was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after tallying three goals on eight shots and one assists in the Trojans' last three games. Winter also leads the team in goals (3), points (7) and shots on goal (7).
The Trojans ended their 2016 campaign with a 7-10-3 record and finished eighth in the Sun Belt. Troy returns five starters and welcomes 11 newcomers to 2017.
COMING UP
Alabama will play its third consecutive match away from home on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. CT when they take on Kennesaw State and will return home to face Tennessee Tech on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. Sunday's match against Tennessee Tech will air on SEC Network +.
