The Alabama Crimson Tide record its second ever win over a top-10 ranked team with its 1-0 result over No. 5 Texas A&M Thursday in the Power of Pink game. In head coach Wes Hart’s biggest win in charge, Alabama’s late goal sees the Crimson Tide keeps its SEC Tournament dreams alive.

Junior defender Nealy Martin’s strike in the 79th minute was the decider after a string of passes in the Crimson Tide build-up was finished off with Martin slapping home the central ball from Taylor Morgan. Martin’s winner was just her second goal of her career.

“Honestly I kind of blacked out,” Martin said. “I was running down the field and didn’t get it but I saw Taylor Morgan making a run across and she got the ball and I was like ‘I’m just going to keep running’ so she passed the ball back to me and I guess my first reaction was to shoot far post.”

Hart entered the match urging his players to assert themselves early. Tuning his formation back to the 3-4-3 after a recent run of games experimenting with a 4-4-2. The Crimson Tide responded to the shift and seemed to be in total control of the match through a majority of the first half.

The second half was a massive test of the Crimson Tide back line as the Aggies upped its intensity and forced Alabama deep into its own half. Texas A&M has averaged 2.75 goals per game on the year and created chance after chance throughout the midfield.

“We battled defensively,” Hart said. “We fought, we scrapped, we kicked, we did all that stuff. But when we got the ball I think we had some good moments of trying to connect passes.”

An inspired performance from sophomore goalkeeper Alex Plavin was crucial in keeping the Crimson tide in the game throughout the dominant Aggeis spells in the second half. Plavin finished with her second highest save total of the season, eight, and lead the Crimson Tide to its sixth shutout of the season.

“There’s a lot of adrenaline around the game,” Plavin said.” Being able to come up and make big plays when I need to is part of my role and just stepping into that and making an impact.”

The Aggies outshot Alabama 21-9 on the night, but only led Alabama 8-6 in shots on goal. The Crimson Tide held the advantage in corner kick attempts, 5-4.

“I think with Wes being in his fourth season here, he’s really turned around the program,” Plavin said. “We beat FSU last year our freshman year and had a big win this year against A&M. Overall we’re making a statement in the country to take us seriously in the SEC.

Both of the Crimson Tide’s top-10 wins have come under the direction of Hart. His team will continue its late season push for the SEC tournament when it travels to Athens to face off against Georgia. The Bulldogs currently sit 13th in the SEC and will enter the match at 4-8-4 on the year, 1-5-2 in SEC.