Alabama
Troy
Alabama Soccer Blanks Troy, 3-0, in Mobile
9/3/2017 2:36:00 PM | Soccer
Abbie Boswell scores a pair of goals to propel the Tide past the Trojans
MOBILE, Ala. – Alabama women's soccer silenced Troy, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at The Cage in Mobile, Ala to record its fifth win of the season. Abbie Boswell notched the first two goals, and Emma Welch netted the third to catapult the Tide past the Trojans. Alabama (5-1) picked up its third consecutive victory and Troy (2-4-1) suffered its fourth loss of the season.
"I am very pleased with the performance, "coach Wes Hart said. "I thought the girls came out with the right attitude. We made 15 shots in the first half, so it was a dominate half for us, but we found ourselves only up 1-0 at halftime. So the second half was important, getting that next goal and we did that."
Boswell sent in the game-winner on a penalty kick in the first nine minutes of the match and followed with a goal in the second half to put the Tide up by two. Then in the 83rd minute, Welch scored her second goal of the year off a double assist from freshmen Neaka Khalilian and Nicole Lyubenko to shutout Troy for the fifth time in school history. In the five-game series history between the two squads, Alabama has outscored Troy 24-0. Senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton registered two saves in 90:00 minutes and recorded her second shutout of the year.
"Abbie Boswell made a nice run down the sideline and the ball was fed through to her and she scored a great goal," Hart said. "I am very happy for Abbie. She needed those two goals for her confidence. She has been playing well but had not found the back of the net, but hopefully, these two goals today will get her rolling."
Alabama took possession of the ball early firing the first shot of the match and drew a foul inside the box off a corner to set up a penalty kick in the ninth minute. Boswell stepped up to the line and netted the ball to the left corner as the Trojan keeper dove to the right for the 1-0 lead.
Troy tried to respond off a free kick 30 yards in front of the goal in the 14th minute, but Stratton snagged the rebound out of the air to keep Troy off the board.
A few minutes later, the Crimson Tide controlled the ball on Troy's side of the pitch for a six-minute span earning four corners and a free kick, but Alabama's two shots on frame were saved by the Trojan keeper.
Alabama continued to attack the goal with seven more shots but nothing fell through, and the half ended with Alabama up by one.
In the second stanza, Troy charged out of the gates with a shot towards goal that rolled just outside the left post, but Alabama quickly regained possession and blasted a shot inside the goal in the 52nd minute to go up by two. Taylor Morgan passed the ball to Boswell on the left wing, and the junior forward sprinted past a defender and sent a rocket to the upper right corner of the net.
The Tide continued to muster up scoring opportunities and several breakaway plays, but nothing could connect until Khalilian and Lyubenko weaved the ball across the six-yard box to Welch who notched the Tide's third goal of the day to silence the Trojans.
Alabama dominated the ball, recording 21 shots to Troy's six en route to their fifth win of the season.
Alabama returns to the pitch on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. CT to face Kennesaw State at 6 p.m. CT in Kennesaw, Ga. and returns to Tuscaloosa on Sunday, Sept. 10 to take on Tennessee Tech at 5 p.m. CT. The Tide's match against Tennessee Tech will air 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.
