Alabama Rattles Florida Atlantic with 8-2 Win

Thursday, August 29

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

7 p.m.

Alabama

4-1-0, 0-0-0

Florida Atlantic

0-3-2, 0-0-0

Fla. Atlantic

Alabama

Alabama Rattles Florida Atlantic with 8-2 Win

8/29/2024 11:27:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

Six Crimson Tide players tallied goals in the match as the game was highlighted by a two-goal, five-point performance from Gianna Paul and Nadia Ramadan

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – With a flurry of second half goals, the Alabama soccer team (4-1) routed Florida Atlantic (0-3-2) in an 8-2 victory Thursday night at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.

Six Crimson Tide players netted goals as Gianna Paul (23^rd minute, 58^th minute) and Nadia Ramadan (46^th minute, 53^rd minute) both recorded a brace in addition to an assist for five points in the match. Kiley Kukan notched her third goal of the season in the 18^th minute of action as Kate Henderson found her second in the 66^th minute. Both Kennedy Garcia, 78^th minute, and Madeline Padelski, 80^th minute, would tally their first goal of the year before time expired.

Gallery: (8-29-2024) 08-29-24 WSO vs FAU

From Head Coach Wes Hart

"There wasn't anything (different) we did this week or anything. But just in general, you know, we always talk about being the aggressor and being on the front foot - dictating the pace and the tempo of the game and the territory, all of those things. I mean, I think this is a very aggressive team. And I thought that we looked aggressive tonight.

"We've got Southern Miss on Sunday and so like always, we certainly want to celebrate the win, but at the same time, we've got a job to do tomorrow. That's focus on our next opponent. So we got to get our mind right and know that Southern Miss is coming in to try to win this game, and we just need to make sure we're ready for Southern Miss. But we'll certainly enjoy tonight."

Game Notes

The last time Alabama scored at least eight goals in a game was during the Tide's 9-0 victory against Jackson State during the 2022 NCAA Tournament (11/11/2022)
Both Ramadan and Paul concluded the night with five points as both student-athletes tallied two goals and an assist
Kukan opened the scoring in the 18^th minute after Gessica Skorka played a ball towards the endline for Ramadan
Ramadan passed a ball back towards the six-yard box for Kukan to place in the upper right corner of the net
Florida Atlantic evened the score at 1-1 less than a minute later after Michelle Horan centered a ball from the right corner of the field, just inside Coralie Lallier on the right post
The scored stayed tied for just three minutes as Sydney Japic played a ball over the top for Paul, who shot it low and towards the nearside post
The two teams would battle for the remainder of the half as the Tide maintained a one goal advantage heading into the break
Back-to-back goals from Ramadan jump started a dominant, six-goal half for the Crimson Tide
In the 46^th minute, Paul forced a defensive turnover and found Ramadan unmarked and racing towards net
Just minutes later, Ramadan (52:23) would cut through traffic in the box, opening up space to shoot a driving ball just inside the far post
A foul on Kukan inside the box put Paul (57:12) in a position to net the Tide's fifth goal off a penalty kick
The Crimson Tide continued to apply pressure as Cameron Silva crossed a ball from the left sideline to the back post for Kate Henderson to connect on with a diving header (65:04)
Taking her own penalty kick after being taken down in the box, Garcia extended the Tide's lead to 7-1 with 77:32 on the clock
Isabel Smith fought her way through the center of the field to thread a ball through the backline to Padelski for Alabama's final goal of the night
It also marked Padelski's first collegiate goal as the UA freshman fired a shot inside with her first touch
Before time expired, FAU's Drew Dempsey tallied a second goal for the Owls with less than five minutes to play in the game
In all, Alabama scored 22 points in the match off of eight goals and six assists, tying for 10^th all-time in total points in a single game