Five different players found the back of the net for Alabama in a 5-1 road victory over Mercer in the team’s final nonconference game of the regular season.
The Crimson Tide set the tone early, firing off three shots in the first eight minutes before forward Gianna Paul put them on the board in the 11th. Midfielder Felicia Knox followed suit four minutes later, giving Alabama just its fifth multigoal game of the season.
Mercer’s 5-0-4 record coming into the game was identical to that of the Crimson Tide. Among their previous results was a scoreless draw against Auburn in preseason play. Mercer has a formidable squad and is among the favorites to win the Southern Conference this year. None of this mattered today.
The Crimson Tide did whatever it wanted offensively en route to a season-high five goals, all of which came in the first half. Head coach Wes Hart said he was pleased with the performance.
“I don’t believe we did anything different today, just played with a lot of aggression and confidence. I thought we scored some incredible goals and nearly had a few more,” Hart said.
Even more notable than the sheer number of goals was the people who scored them, with freshmen Nadia Ramadan and Cami Silva both recording the first of their careers.
“Really happy to see a couple of our freshmen score goals today. Nadia has been close on a couple occasions and Cami got one in preseason. Both have been playing well,” Hart said.
Ramadan in particular could be a big factor for the Crimson Tide down the stretch this season. The 18-year-old has played almost 300 minutes across 10 games this year, even getting her first career start a few weeks back against Southern Mississippi. She is also no stranger to big moments, having played for Egypt’s under-17 and under-20 teams in international play.
Overall, it was a big day for an Alabama team that has often struggled to defeat seemingly inferior opponents, notably Samford back on Sept. 3.
“It was important that we played a lot of players today. It allowed us to stay fresh and keep the energy up. It also allowed us to rest some players, so we will be fresh for Arkansas,” Hart said.
As mentioned, the Crimson Tide heads to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
