The University of Alabama women’s soccer team will be playing two games this weekend, Friday at the University of Memphis and Sunday at home against Middle Tennessee State University.

The Crimson Tide is coming off of a 2-1 overtime win against Chattanooga. However, head coach Todd Bramble saw the victory in a different light.

“It didn’t really feel like a victory because our team felt that we underperformed that day,” he said.

Preventing another lackluster performance this weekend will take a well thought out strategy and plenty of work.

“We’ll have the opportunity to see Memphis on tape,” Bramble said. “We’ll give our players some information and capitalize on things we see.”

Alabama has been strategizing on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Carly Mygrants, a redshirt junior defender, laid out some defensive strategy.

“We play Memphis every year, we know they will attack fast and hard,” she said.

According to Mygrants, the defense has a “one game at a time” philosophy.

“We will be concerned with [Memphis] first and then we will focus more on Middle Tennessee State later,” she said.

On the flip side of the game, the forwards have a slightly different way of preparing for a game.

“We have a scouting report and try to figure out how [the opposing defense] will line up and who will play,” senior forward Victoria Fredrick said. “Throughout the week we focus on what we are trying to do. We try to always attack the same way.”

But Friday night is not the most difficult challenge the team faces. The transition between playing an away game Friday, the travel back home, the madness that is gameday Saturday in Tuscaloosa, and then an afternoon game on Sunday will take its toll.

Bramble admitted that keeping focus throughout the weekend is difficult.

“It’s a big challenge for college kids,” he said. “The coaching staff has to keep reminding them of what they have to do, both physically and mentally. The lackadaisical performance against Chattanooga may help us because their guard will be up and thus [we will] go the extra mile to redeem ourselves.”

The players echoed this sentiment.

“Mentally it takes a toll on you more than physically,” Mygrants said. “The coaches do everything they can to prepare us physically.”

“It takes some getting used to,” Fredrick said. “As a senior, it is definitely easier than as a freshman. We will, however, have a rest day on Saturday to refocus and rejuvenate.”

This weekend may help the Tide in the long run because they have to play this kind of weekend schedule three times over the course of Southeastern Conference play; two times the weekend games are both in Tuscaloosa, while one occurrence has both games on the road.