For the fifth time in school history, the Alabama soccer team started 2-0. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide’s winning streak came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Furman University.
Fifteen minutes into the game, Furman forward Rachel Shelnutt beat her defender and scored on Alabama goalkeeper Laura Nicholls, who is replacing regular starting goalkeeper Justine Bernier. Bernier is away for three weeks in Italy training with the Canadian National Soccer team.
“Laura has big shoes to fill,” head coach Todd Bramble said, “but she is more than capable. She has one game under her belt now, and she will eventually gain the confidence she needs.”
The Tide had 29 shots during the game without a goal, frustrating junior defender Carly Mygrants.
“This entire week we practiced finishing,” Mygrants said. “Obviously that did not happen today, but it is better now early in the season than in SEC play. It was like a glass wall in front of the goal. We had so many chances but credit to their keeper. She did a great job.”
Jessica Smith was in goal for the Paladins. She posted a career-high 11 saves, three of those saves coming from shots by Tide defender Ashley Willis.
“She is very capable of scoring and creating opportunities for us on the attack,” Bramble said. “It is something that we will see more of this year.”
Bramble said he thought his team played well in the first half.
“We went into the locker room trailing by one,” he said. “We changed our tactic to a high-risk tactic, which we were obviously buried in. The weather delay did not help either.”
After half time, the rain and lighting starting coming down, scaring off the 1,012 in attendance. After an hour and a half delay, the game kicked off again. Furman found the goal two more times in the second half, with Shelnutt finding the net once more and Kitty Tyron scoring a late goal to seal the win for Furman.
The Tide will play in an exhibition match tonight at the Alabama Soccer Stadium in Tuscaloosa against the Ghana U-17 National team.
“We are very excited for the opportunity to play the Ghana National team,” Bramble said. “They are training in Decatur right now and they wanted some teams to play.”
The Tide returns to regular season action Sept. 5 at 1 p.m. versus Chattanooga in Tuscaloosa.
