Alabama
3-1-0, 0-0-0
Southern Miss
2-2-0, 0-0-0
Alabama Soccer Defeats Southern Miss, 3-2, In Sunday Overtime Thriller
8/29/2021 5:24:00 PM | Soccer
The Crimson Tide earned its first overtime victory of the season and moved to 3-1-0 on the year
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's soccer team (3-1-0) defeated Southern Miss (2-2-0) in double overtime on Sunday at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. The two squads battled for 107 continuous minutes until sophomore midfielder Felicia Knox scored a golden goal to put the Crimson Tide up 3-2.
Despite creating multiple chances in the opening minutes of play, Alabama sat tied 0-0 until the 29th minute. Defender Bella Scaturro dribbled the ball into the attacking third, working her way to the top of the box to send a shot through the goalkeeper's hands and into the back of the net. Alabama exited the half, leading 11-5 in shots.
Both teams pressured hard coming out of halftime, in a physical game that saw five yellow cards. Forward Ashlynn Serepca drew and converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute to give the Tide a 2-0 lead. Southern Miss responded 10 minutes later with Ilana Izquierdo scoring a goal off a breakaway opportunity. Less than a minute later, Izaquierdo found the equalizer for the Golden Eagles, tapping the ball into the net after receiving a cross. Both teams would head into their first overtime game of the season as the second half ended with the score 2-2.
Southern Miss gained territory and momentum in the first overtime period, as USM took four shots while Alabama took one. Goalkeeper McKinley Crone kept the Tide in the game, tallying two saves.
In the final three minutes of the second overtime, forward Kate Henderson headed the ball off a cross, forcing Southern Miss' goalkeeper to give up a deflection in front of the goal. Knox lunged into the six-yard box to secure the win for Alabama.
From Head Coach Wes Hart
"I couldn't be prouder of the team for grinding it out and finding a way to get the result. We looked tired today. There weren't enough players moving for one another, which made it hard for us to keep the ball. I thought some of our best soccer was played early in the second half. But as the half wore on and into OT, we looked spent. We will take the win and focus our attention to a very good Samford team on Thursday night."
Behind the Box Score
- The last time UA won in double overtime was Sept. 29, 2019, winning at Tennessee, 2-1
- Alabama registered 23 shots, while Southern Miss tallied 16
- Defender Bella Scaturro notched her first collegiate goal
- Forward Ashlynn Serepca earned her second goal of the season
- Midfielder Felicia Knox's game-winning goal was her first goal of the season and the first golden goal of her collegiate career
- Forward Kate Henderson tallied her first collegiate assist
- Goalkeeper McKinley Crone registered five saves on the day
- USM's goalkeeper was forced to make seven saves
Up Next
Alabama hosts Samford for a Thursday night matchup on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. CT. Admission is free for all home Alabama regular-season soccer games.
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.
–UA–
Team Stats
Bella Scaturro (1)
Scaturro takes on the defense from 25-yards out, working her way to the top of the box to push the ball past the keeper
28:41
Ashlynn Serepca (1)
ALA Ashlynn Serepca PENALTY KICK GOAL.
54:33
Ilana Izquierdo (4)
Assisted By: Ariel Diaz
GOAL by SM Izquierdo, Ilana Assist by Diaz, Ariel.
64:25
Ilana Izquierdo (4)
Assisted By: Blessing Kingsley , Ariel Diaz
GOAL by SM Izquierdo, Ilana Assist by Kingsley, Blessing and Diaz, Ariel.
65:21
Felicia Knox (1)
Assisted By: Kate Henderson
Goalkeeper gives up a rebound off a header from Henderson for Knox to tap into to goal on the left goal post
107:23
