Alabama Remains Undefeated at Home with 2-2 Draw Against Tennessee

Sunday, September 22

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

7-2-2, 0-0-2

Tennessee

6-1-2, 1-0-1

Tennessee

Alabama

Alabama Remains Undefeated at Home with 2-2 Draw Against Tennessee

9/22/2024 10:12:00 PM | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Crimson Tide traded shots with the Lady Vols as Nedya Sawan and Gianna Paul found the back of the net in the conference matchup

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –– The Alabama soccer team (7-2-2, 0-0-2 SEC) battled Tennessee (6-1-2, 1-0-1) to a 2-2 draw in the Crimson Tide's Southeastern Conference home opener Sunday.

Both teams netted one shot a half as UA saw goals from Nedya Sawan (40^th minute) and Gianna Paul (51^st minute) in the game. With the draw, Alabama remains undefeated at home, moving to 4-0-1 on the year at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.

Gallery: (9-22-2024) 09-22-24 WSO vs Tennessee

From Head Coach Wes Hart

"We knew Tennessee was a very good team. They're coming off big wins - a big win over a top-20 team in Memphis, and then tied against a very good UCLA team. We knew they were going to be a handful. Very athletic, very good at pressing and they're disruptive. We like to establish a little bit of rhythm, and they were able to disrupt us at times. I thought the moments we were able to break their pressure led to some good attacks, including the goal. . It started from the build out that ended up with Izzy (Smith) playing Lexi (Meyer), and Lexi had a wonderful assist to Nedya. But we knew, all these SEC games, it's going to be a battle and a grind every game.

"Our crowd was awesome tonight! Grateful that so many fans turned out. I'm so thankful for the drumline too. We love feeding off the energy that our home crowd creates. They are a big reason we are so tough to beat at home."

Game Notes

Isabel Smith played a ball out wide for Lexi Meyer to cross into the box with her first touch in the 40^th minute of action
Sawan would deflect the ball with her head towards the back corner of the net for the first goal of the game
Less than two minutes later, Kennedy Price took advantage of a failed clearance in the box, as she fired the ball back at net for a goal in the 42^nd minute
The Tide dominated the half in shots, 10-5, but the two teams would break with a 1-1 score
Tennessee came out strong in the second half, finding a goal from Sammi Woods in the 51^st minute after Price played the ball back to Reese Mattern from the endline, who took a touch and sent it into the box
A minute later, Meyer lunged to center the ball to Nadia Ramadan, who on her first touch found Paul running through the backline towards goal
Paul would slide to get her foot on the end of the ball, sending it into the lower right corner
Alabama is the first team this season to net a pair of goals against the Lady Vols, who entered the game as one of the top defenses in the country, ranking third nationally in goals-against average (0.25) and fourth in shutout percentage (0.75)
Sawan has now tallied three goals this season, moving her to second on the team in points with 23 thanks to four assists earlier in the year
Gianna Paul notched her eighth goal, tying her season-high of eight goals from both her freshman and sophomore years
With a pair of assists on the night, Meyer is now tied as the team leader in assists with four
Coralie Lallier made five saves, while Tennessee's Ally Zazzara tallied two stops
Alabama had a total of 20 shots in the game, a season high for Tennessee who had faced double-digit attempts just twice prior to Sunday's match (Indiana – 10 | UCLA – 16)