The Alabama Crimson Tide soccer team finished the first weekend of a four game home stand with a 1-0 victory over the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.
Friday night Alabama secured a 3-2 double overtime victory that handed LSU its first loss of the season. The Crimson Tide carried over that offensive momentum and defensive intensity against the Golden Eagles to win its second straight.
“I think that LSU game gave us confidence,” Coach Wes Hart said. “We were rewarded for our performance. I was proud of the effort the girls gave. To be able to bounce back and be mentally and physically prepared for this game says a lot about our team.”
The Crimson Tide took eight shots in the first half with three on goal attempted by Emma Welch, Lacey Clarida, and Elena Zang. Midfielder’s Chatham DeProspo and Celia Jimenez Delgado, who scored the game winning goal against the Tigers, had three shots between them.
The Golden Eagles attempted two shots and one on goal that was saved by Alabama’s goalkeeper Emily Rusk, her 26th save of the season.
“They were pretty organized and they were content to sit back a little bit and stay organized,” Hart said. “We weren’t quite in tune, but we made some adjustments at halftime.”
The Crimson Tide attempted to get an early goal on the Golden Eagles to start the second half. In the first three minutes of the half, Christina Martensson and Hailey Brohaugh attempted two shots on goal that was saved by the Golden Eagles freshman goalkeeper Brittany Snyder. A hard foul by the Golden Eagles in the 50th minute resulted in a penalty kick attempt by Celia Jimenez Delgado that was saved by Snyder.
The aggressiveness on shot attempts paid off seconds later when Lacey Clarida scored the first goal of the game with a header off a corner kick by Hailey Brohaugh. That shot was Clarida’s first goal of the season. The Crimson Tide would hold on to its lead on the defensive side and get their third win of the season
“I been waiting a while for it to come,” Clarida said. “But it builds confidence and this goal and win will help.”
The Crimson Tide fall to 3-3-2 for the season. Lacey Clarida finished the game with one goal with four shot attempts and three on goal. Hailey Brohaugh had three shot attempts with one on goal and one assist. Emily Rusk had five saves with no goals allowed for the fourth game this season, she has 30 saves this season, which is top three in the SEC.
This Friday, the Crimson Tide will play their third game of a four game home stand against the Kentucky Wildcats, who are 6-1-1 to start the season. Opening kick begins at 7:00 p.m. CT.
