A second half surge advanced the Crimson Tide to the quarterfinals in the SEC Tournament, knocking off the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The first half was as even as anyone could have guessed: The Crimson Tide held a 6-5 shot advantage, and the scoreboard was blank. With Alabama routinely struggling after halftime, this looked to be the Crimson Tide’s game to lose.
The second half began, and a shoot-out occurred.
Larkin Thomason finally broke the stalemate in the 76th minute, when a lobbed pass from Melina Rebimbas found Thomason deep. While fighting with a Gamecock defender, Thomson arced the ball over the goalkeeper, who was racing up to help defend. A lone defender was racing towards the ball but was not fast enough as it rolled into the empty net.
With a little bit under 14 minutes remaining, both teams began trading shot after shot.
South Carolina has one of the best offensive threats in the country at forward, Katie Shae Collins. Alabama head coach Wes Hart said that Collins has been a thorn in the side of Alabama’s back line in the past three meetings. But in the second half, the Crimson Tide’s defense held strong.
Goalkeeper Madi Munguia continued her amazing season inside the net, tallying six saves and logging her fourth shutout. Late in the second half, Munguia dove and blocked a long shot from the Gamecocks that would have tied the match.
After a long offensive and defensive masterclass from both teams, Gianna Paul sealed the upset for the Crimson Tide. Thomason got the ball away from the defenders near the Alabama 40. Dribbling past midfield, she launched a pass down field and connected with Paul. Paul was one on one with a defender when she made her shot.
The Gamecock goalie made a save, but Paul was on her feet and had just shaken off her pursuer. Paul sprinted up, rebounded the ball and fired it again. This time it flew right past the gloves and into the net.
“So proud of how our team competed today and grinded out a result against a very good South Carolina team,” Hart said. “Probably some of the best defending I’ve seen from us all year.”
With the upset victory, the Crimson Tide advanced to the quarterfinals and will face the No. 8 Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday, Nov. 4. This will be the fifth consecutive quarterfinals appearance for Alabama.
