Winning is hard. Everybody knows this.
Alabama soccer has done a lot of winning these past two years. But in its biggest game of the season, the team fell short, falling 1-0 to Anson Dorrance and North Carolina.
“Today we lost to a very talented and well-coached North Carolina team,” head coach Wes Hart said.
Despite the loss, Alabama put forth what may have been its best defensive effort of the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Coralie Lallier was nothing short of spectacular, recording a career-high eight saves to keep the Crimson Tide in the game for all 90 minutes, and senior defender Sasha Pickard, playing in the 100th and final game of her career, was all over the field forcing stops.
But it wasn’t enough, as redshirt sophomore Ally Sentnor was able to get a ball past Lallier in the 19th minute.
It was the ninth goal of the season for the 2019 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKid of the Year, and it would prove to be the only goal scored all afternoon.
Alabama’s offense struggled all game, tallying zero shots on goal, and the Tar Heels dominated time of possession.
Sophomore forward Gianna Paul, still nursing the injury that kept her out against Western Carolina, was able to play just 53 minutes off the bench and got off just one shot attempt.
Freshmen Nadia Ramadan and Cameron Silva and senior defender Marianna Annest were the only other Alabama players to shoot. Overall the Crimson Tide attempted just four shots, the team’s lowest total since August 2021.
This result, while disappointing, is not all that surprising. While Alabama was able to ride a strong home crowd to a 1-1 draw back in September, North Carolina has been the better team for the vast majority of the year.
“Proud of our team today and throughout the season,” Hart said postgame. “We had big shoes to fill based on our success last season. And despite losing a core group of players from last season, we were able to put together a pretty impressive year.”
Alabama now has nine months to regroup and refocus for next season. The goal, of course, will be to build upon the success of the 2022 team and make it back to the College Cup.
But for now, the attention shifts to the Tar Heels and the 15 other schools that will join them in the Sweet 16, including familiar foes such as Georgia, Memphis and Mississippi State.
