Alabama Soccer to Kick Off 2019 Regular Season with Two Home Games

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama soccer team will begin its 2019-20 regular season with a pair of home games at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The Tide will open the season against No. 22 BYU on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT and will battle against Utah on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Both games will air on SEC Network+. Admission to all home games is free.

Promotions

Thursday Night

Free tailgate event for all UA students
Whataburger food giveaway

Sunday Afternoon

Kid's Day – poster making, yard games, pictures with Big Al

Exhibition Recap

3-0 Shutout vs. UCF

Sophomore Riley Mattingly - 16th minute (1-0)
Freshman Carly Wyatt - 42nd minute (2-0)
Junior Casey Wertz, successful penalty kick (3-0)
Strong defensive performance limiting UCF to only three shots
Finished the match with 12 shots, five of which were on frame

4-0 Shutout vs. South Alabama

First half concluded scoreless, Alabama maintained possession 72 percent of the time
Four goals scored in a 14-minute span within the second half
- Freshman Macy Clem – 56^th minute (1-0)
- Mattingly, successful penalty kick (2-0)
- Wertz – 62^nd minute (3-0)
- Junior Taylor Morgan – 70^th minute (4-0)
Strong defensive performance limiting the Jaguars to two shots
Finished the match with 22 shots, nine of which were on goal
Freshman goalkeeper A.J. Crooks finished with one save in the shutout victory

About Alabama

2018 record: 8-8-3 with an SEC conference record of 2-6-2
Returns seven starters and 16 letterwinners
Welcomes 11 newcomers, ranked No. 12 recruiting class by TopDrawer Soccer
Earned their first victory against a Top Five ranked opponent when they shutout then No. 5 Texas A&M, 1-0, on Oct. 18, 2018
Head coach Wes Hart enters his fifth season at Alabama and owns a career record of 34-36-8

Scouting Thursday's Opponent – No. 22 BYU

First meeting in program history between Alabama and the No. 22 BYU Cougars
2018 record: 13-5-1, WCC conference record of 8-1-0
- Fell in NCAA Quarterfinals to TCU, 1-2
Returns ten starters from last season, topped by leading scorer Elise Flake (14g, 5a).
Welcomes eight newcomers to the squad
Topped Colorado College in lone exhibition match, 4-0

Scouting Sunday's Opponent – Utah

First meeting in series history between the Tide and the Utes
2018 record: 9-8-2, PAC-12 conference record of 6-4-1, including four consecutive shutouts against PAC-12 opponents
Returns nine starters from last season, led by scorer Ireland Dunn (4g-7a)
Welcomes 12 newcomers to the squad consisting of eight true freshman and four redshirts
Predicted to finish eighth in the PAC-12 in the preseason coaches' poll

Following Sunday's match against Utah, the Tide will face five consecutive road games starting with Rice on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. CT in Houston, Texas and Lamar on Sunday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. CT in Beaumont, Texas.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaSoccer on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. General athletic news can be found at @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and @AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.