After a win on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs in the team’s last outing, the Alabama Crimson Tide soccer team lost a tough one at home in overtime to the Missouri Tigers 2-1.
Despite tying the game at the end of the second half, the Crimson Tide lost on an early goal in overtime to lose its 10th game of the season.
“I told them I was disappointed for them, but not disappointed in them,” Coach Wes Hart said. “I thought that their effort was good. We played a good team, Missouri is the top of the SEC. So for us to come out battle and be competitive with them it says a lot about our girls.”
At the 15 minute mark the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead with a header by midfielder Lauren Flynn with Kaitlyn Clark assisting on the play. The Tigers looked to add to the lead going into halftime with four shots on goal and getting close to the net, but the Crimson Tide’s defense was able to hold up.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Rusk, who was honored before the game for her senior night had three saves in the half despite allowing a goal. The Tigers outshot the Crimson Tide 11-4 in the first half. Midfielder Auburn Mercer had two shots with one on goal at the 40 minute mark that was saved by the Tigers’ junior goalkeeper Kristen Rivers.
“[In the first half] I knew that what we were doing was effective that even though they had more of the possession and more of the chances, the direct balls we sent over the top of them was causing them problems,” Hart said. “Just trying to remain positive and keep their spirit and energy up.”
In the second half, the Crimson Tide turned up the pressure on the offensive side with 5 corner kicks, after zero in the first half, and attempting five shots in the first 25 minutes of the half. The aggressiveness on offense paid off at the 81st minute mark when midfielder Chatham DeProspo tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from 25 yards out and sent the game to overtime.
“In training, Chatham was hitting a lot of nice shots from distance, I had a feeling that if she had an opportunity she would make the most of it,” Hart said.
In the opening seconds of the first overtime period, the Tigers won the game from a goal by forward Jessica Johnson off an assist by Reagan Russell, her third goal of the season.
The Tigers outshot the Crimson Tide 21-11 in the game. Forward Lacey Clarida had team-high three shots, but left the game late in the second half with a shoulder injury. Goalkeeper Emily Rusk had six total saves in the game. The Crimson Tide fall to 5-10-2 with two games remaining in the season.
