SEC Tournament Action Opens Friday Against LSU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 11th-seeded Crimson Tide women's soccer team will open up the SEC Tournament Friday night, facing No. 14 seed LSU in the first round at the City of Orange Beach Sportsplex. Friday night's match will be televised on SEC Network at 6 p.m. CT, live stats will also be provided at SECSports.com.

Last Time Out

Alabama (2-4-2) got back in the win column last Friday with a 1-0 shutout victory over then-No. 15 Auburn at the Auburn soccer complex.
Felicia Knox provided the only offense of the contest in the first half when she laced a shot from Riley Mattingly in the 36th minute to give Alabama a 1-0 advantage, that it would not relinquish.
Goalkeeper McKinley Crone and the Crimson Tide defense suffocated the Tiger's offense and held its opponent scoreless, posting its first shutout of the season.
Last season, Alabama defeated the Tigers in overtime, 2-1, in the First Round of the SEC Tournament.
The shutout victory over then-No. 15 Auburn marked Alabama's sixth victory against a ranked SEC opponent and only the second while on the road.

Scouting LSU

The Tigers enter Friday's contest hungry for a win after supporting an 0-6-2 regular season record.
LSU has struggled to find offense in 2020, scoring just six goals in eight matches.
This will be LSU's 15th appearance at the tournament, holding an all-time record of 9-10-6 in 25 matches played at the conference tournament.
In LSU's last trip to Orange Beach in 2018, the Tigers won four matches to claim LSU's first ever SEC Tournament title.

Series with the Tigers

Friday's match-up marks the 27th meeting in series history between the two squads and first time LSU and Alabama will meet at the SEC Tournament.
Alabama leads the all-time series 12-8-6, with eight of the last 11 matchups forced into overtime.

We Meet Again

Just two weeks ago, Alabama and LSU Tigers battled through rough rainy conditions to a 3-3 double overtime draw on Oct. 23 at the LSU Soccer Complex.
Heavy rainfall and lightning came during the contest making an impact on the field conditions as well as a delay in the play of the game.
Alabama got off to a quick offensive start, recording back-to-back goals less than a minute apart from Carly Wyatt.
Wyatt, broke through in the 19th minute off a pass from Casey Wertz and Reyna Reyes.
Nearly seconds later, Wyatt responded with her second goal of the game and season to make it a two-goal match before play was suspended due to lightning in the area.
Once play resumed nearly two hours later, LSU got on the board before halftime by a goal from Tinaya Alexander in the 25th minute.
After the half, Serena Pham picked up the pace with a score during the 57th minute of action, but LSU's Alexander responded within the minute to leave the Tide only up by one, 3-2.
The Tigers found the equalizer in the 77th minute from Molly Thompson to keep the score tied the final 13 minutes of regulation.

SEC TOURNAMENT

Alabama made its 12th appearance at the SEC Tournament last season, entering at the seventh seed.
The Tide made it to the quarterfinals for only the third time in program history, falling to Vanderbilt, 1-2.

Alabama's SEC Tournament History:

1994: Semifinals loss (1-2 vs. Auburn in OT)
1995: Semifinals win (1-0 vs. Auburn) --> Finals loss (1-2 vs. Kentucky)
1996: 1st Round loss (2-3 vs. Georgia)
1997: 1st Round loss (2-3 vs. Georgia)
1998: 1st Round win (1-0 vs. Tennessee) --> Semifinals loss (0-1 vs. Vanderbilt)
2004: 1st Round loss (0-2 vs. Florida)
2008: 1st Round loss (1-2 vs. Florida)
2011: 1st Round win (1-0 vs. South Carolina) --> Semifinals loss (1-2 vs. Florida)
2014: 1st Round loss (2-3 vs. Tennessee)
2016: 1st Round Loss (0-1 vs. Texas A&M in OT)
2017: 1st Round Loss (1-3 vs. Missouri)
2019: 1st Round win (2-1 vs. Auburn in OT) --> Quarterfinals loss (1-2 vs. Vanderbilt)

First Half Force

Through eight games this season, the Tide has scored early with seven of its 10 goals coming in the first half.
Alabama has also outscored its opponents 7-4 in the first 45 minutes of action.

All-SEC Accolades

Voted on by the league's head coaches, Riley Mattingly was selected to the Second Team All-SEC, while Felicia Knox picked up All-Freshman Team accolades earlier today.
Mattingly made six starts in seven matches during her third season at the Capstone, leading the team with five points in 2020.
A native of Flower Mound, Texas, Mattingly, leads the Tide in shots fired with 13.
Knox played in all eight regular season conference games, making seven starts at midfield.
Logging nearly 576 minutes on the pitch as a true freshman, Knox ranks fourth on the team in minutes.

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.