Alabama
2-0-0, 2-0-0
Tennessee
0-2-0, 0-2-0
Soccer Takes Down Tennessee 3-1 in Season Opener
9/19/2020 5:14:00 PM | Soccer
The Tide earns its first SEC conference win of the season Saturday afternoon
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women’s soccer team put on an offensive showing in its season home opener, as the Tide topped the Tennessee Volunteers 3-1 at the Alabama Soccer Stadium to move 1-0 on the season.
Junior Riley Mattingly sounded off for her first goal of the day in the 19th minute of the opening half with a penalty kick to give Alabama the lead. The Crimson Tide carried the momentum into the second half as Mattingly found the back of the net for her second goal, off a header in the box fed in by freshman Felicia Knox. It was just a minute later, that sophomore Serena Pham added her name to the scorebook with a goal to close out the scoring for the Tide.
We made it a point before the game to address the team, we want to be aggressive, we want to make it a game about territory and it starts with us and the attack, winning the ball, let’s get forward. We want to go score goals. I thought our attack started off great, and then on the flipside, defensibly as well, we wanted to press them high, turn balls over in their defensive half of the field, and we did a good job of that as well. My expectations for Riley are through the roof, perhaps maybe unfair to Riley, but I see so much potential in her. I thought she did a great job of responding in the second half.From Head Coach Wes Hart
Behind the Win
- Junior transfer goalkeeper Mckinley Crone collected five saves on the day as she and the Alabama defense only allowed one lone goal on 17 shots from the Volunteers. The Maitland, Fla., product made a pair of key stops, including one that she tipped over the crossbar midway through the second half.
- Alabama earned three more corner kicks than the Vols, 8-5.
- Mattingly, Pham and senior Casey Wertz led the team in shots, each firing off three apiece.
- A total of four players made their Crimson Tide debuts, including Crone, Knox and fellow freshmen Sanchez-Carreto and Skorka.
- This is the second consecutive and eighth win against Tennessee in program history, marking the fifth when playing at home in Tuscaloosa.
I think this win means everything. I think that is a big deal for us. That’s pretty exciting. I feel like it has just been so long since I even played a game. Today, we had some great girls coming in, definitely a lot of talent with the younger girls. Obviously, Felicia gave me that beautiful header for my second goal, which is funny because I told the coaches I was going to score a header goal and they’ve been telling me all pre-season to head the ball and I hadn’t, so that was exciting.From Junior Forward Riley Mattingly
Up Next
The Crimson Tide will face a pair of consecutive road conference matches starting with Mississippi State (Sept. 25) followed by Florida (Oct. 4).
Gallery: 09-19-20 WSO vs Tennessee
ALABAMA WINS!!!??
— Alabama Soccer (@AlabamaSoccer) September 19, 2020
Alabama tops Tennessee 3?-1? in their season opener at home.#FindAWay | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/XEpaRnnDD3
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.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
Riley Mattingly (1)
ALA Riley Mattingly PENALTY KICK GOAL.
18:28
Riley Mattingly (1)
Assisted By: Felicia Knox
GOAL by ALA Mattingly, Riley Assist by Knox, Felicia.
47:51
Serena Pham (1)
Assisted By: Macy Clem
GOAL by ALA Pham, Serena Assist by Clem, Macy.
48:43
Erin Gilroy (1)
GOAL by TEN Gilroy, Erin.
75:17
