A different field, but the results remained the same.
After last year’s double overtime thriller in Baton Rouge, both teams battled once again, this time at the Alabama Soccer Complex. Alabama scored a late goal from Celia Jimenez to give the Crimson Tide its second win of the season.
Coming into Tuscaloosa undefeated, the LSU Tigers just couldn’t hang on to their second half lead, losing to the Crimson Tide 3-2 in double overtime.
“It will make the next time we play them that much harder,” Alabama coach Wes Hart said. “As a staff, we knew our team was good. I challenged them before the game to create more opportunities and create more shots and they did just that.”
In the 20th minute, the Tiger’s forward Summer Clarke scored the first goal of the game with a shot from long distance in the upper-left corner just passing goalkeeper Emily Rusk. Rusk has not surrendered a score at home since the Ole Miss game back in 2014. Her four-game home scoreless streak is the first by an Alabama goalkeeper since Kara Gudmens’ back in 2008.
After Clarke’s goal, the Crimson Tide spread the ball on offense throughout the half feeding it to some of their best offensive players. They took 10 shots with one on goal to end the half. Midfielders Celia Jimenez Delgado and Hailey Brohaugh had shot two goal attempts each.
“At halftime we talked less about tactics and more about a mentality and hunger to score goals,” Coach Hart said.
Down 1-0 to begin the second half, the Crimson Tide controlled possession in LSU territory for the first 10 minutes of the half. Brohaugh had two shots in that span with one that was saved by Tiger senior goalkeeper Catalina Rubiano.
The Crimson Tide finally got on the board in the 71st minute with a goal from midfielder Chatham DeProspo, her first goal of the season. The Tigers regained the lead five minutes later with a goal by forward Jorian Baucom.
With fight still left in the tank, the Crimson Tide answered back with a goal from Alexis Mouton in the 80th minute. Her second goal of the season and sent the game to overtime.
“It doesn’t feel different when you need to score a goal to keep yourself in the game, it’s something that you just do,” Mouton said. “You just have to keep your calm because things can go haywire.”
In the first overtime the Crimson Tide took three shots of the period with none reaching the goal. In the second overtime, Celia Jimenez scored the game winning goal off a corner kick from Emma Welch.
“I think the team worked really hard,” Jimenez said. “We been pushing so hard in the entire 90 minutes and the overtime period the team kept working so hard. If you make the effort, at the end of the game you are going to get what you deserve, and that’s what that goal meant.”
The Crimson Tide goes to 2-3-2 winning their second game at home. They took 33 shots with 10 on goal. Hailey Brohaugh took a season high nine shots with two on goal, while Celia Jimenez took five shots including the game winning goal, her second goal of the season.
They will play game two of their four game home stand this Sunday night against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Opening kick begins at 7:00 p.m. CT.
