All-American and SEC Midfielder of the Year Felicia Knox is entering her senior season with the Alabama soccer team. After making it to the Final Four last year, the team is back in action this fall and hungry for that national championship title as Knox begins her last season with the Crimson Tide.
Although Knox is a soccer program veteran, there are many new faces on the team, leaving some fans to speculate if these new players can live up to recently graduated seniors and fifth-years. However, Knox seems confident in her new teammates and what they have to offer Alabama.
“I would say the players that filled in the gaps of our core players are younger and aren’t as experienced, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, because they’ve come in hungry and eager,” Knox said.
The midfielder spoke highly of the new team dynamic. She feels as if she’s stepped into more of a leadership role now than in previous years because she’s had more seasons under her belt and can lead by example as an upperclassman.
“Now that we don’t have that leadership from previous seniors and fifth-years, some of the juniors and some of the sophomores that are consistently playing have to lead by example,” Knox said. “It’s kind of exciting in a way, because we have to come together and figure things out.”
The Crimson Tide faced a devastating loss last year against UCLA. Knox played 81 minutes of the game and had four shots and two shutouts. Although she did not end her 2022 season without a fight, she said UCLA is unlike any opponent the team has played before.
“UCLA was a team we had never faced before, and we hadn’t really faced a team like them before. We had to adapt in that game, and you could tell we hadn’t been there before,” Knox said.
Alabama quickly had to adjust to UCLA’s playing style during the Final Four matchup, but the team now knows how to approach the game, if and when they compete again. However, the team’s mentality is not focused on the national championship right now; rather, they’re taking it game by game.
“If we just take every game as it comes and know what we have to do in order to win that game, I think that’s the biggest factor,” Knox said. “Before we know it, we’re going to be competing in the SEC championship, the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight and so on.”
Although it is not unlikely the Crimson Tide will make it far in the playoffs, and possibly add a new ring to its collection, Knox doesn’t want to leave her senior season known only as Midfielder of the Year, or the player who holds the UA career record in assists.
“I put all of the accolades and all of that stuff aside, like, ‘Oh yeah, Felicia was an All-American.’ I would rather them say, ‘Yeah, she was the best teammate,’” Knox said. “In the grand scheme of things, I feel like that’s a lot better than just an accolade.”
Obviously, the Alabama soccer program is a very different team than when Knox first came on board, and for the better. It has gone from being an underdog organization on campus to one of the most talked-about teams of 2022. Knox said she has advice for younger players that she’s glad she took herself.
“The advice I would give is don’t compare yourself to another person. Your journey is special in its own way. Your journey is going to be different, but it’s going to be your journey, it’s not anybody else’s,” Knox said. “In high school and before I came to Alabama, Alabama wasn’t the team that it is right now, and I had a lot of people ask me, ‘Why are you going there?’ Well, it’s my journey. I wanted to go to Alabama and play in the SEC and go to one of the best schools in the country and do all these things. That’s part of my journey.”
The senior is grateful for her soccer career and has made sure to stay consistent in her mindset and the goals that she has set for herself along the way.
“I feel like if you just focus on your own path and your own journey, then you’re going to find success at some point, rather than trying to focus on everything else that’s going on around you,” Knox said. “Focus on yourself so your teammates have the best you.”
The soccer season has just begun, but Knox and the rest of the Crimson Tide are gearing up for the long haul.
