Alabama wound up in a tie for the second consecutive game on Sunday, fighting to a 2-2 draw against Tennessee.
“They’re very athletic, very good at pressing, and they disrupted some of our rhythm,” head coach Wes Hart said.
Tennessee opened the game with a long lob over the defense that resulted in a shot in the first 31 seconds. In the sixth minute, Alabama earned a corner kick that resulted in two close shots, neither of which were successful.
The Lady Volunteers took many opportunities to play off long downfield passes and capitalize on their speed up top, whereas Alabama attempted to connect passes and control the pace.
“I think we responded really well,” midfielder Lexi Meyer said. “We stuck to our game plan and worked with each other.”
Junior Sydney Japic appeared to have scored the first goal of the game, putting in a header off a corner, but after review the goal was ruled offside.
With 5:30 left in the half, forward Nedya Sawan made up for Japic’s lost goal by scoring a header and putting Alabama in the lead.
Tennessee evened the score hardly a minute after that with a goal from defender Kennedy Price. The half ended with a 1-1 tie.
In the second half Tennessee scored within the first six minutes with a sharp, low shot from forward Sammi Woods.
Quickly afterwards, Alabama forward Gianna Paul pushed her way into the goalie box after an assist by midfielder Lexi Meyer to score the second Alabama goal of the game. It was Paul’s eighth goal of the season.
The game was a chippy back-and-forth, with 15 fouls between the teams. The game ended in a 2-2 making this Alabama’s second tie in a row.
“We’re not satisfied at all with this outcome,” forward Nedya Swan. “Obviously it’s better than a loss, but we know we could’ve won that game. Tennessee is a great team, but you know we want to beat great teams.”
Alabama plays next against Missouri on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. CT. Fans can tune in on SEC Network+.
