The Alabama women’s soccer team will face Southeastern Conference opponents Tennessee and Georgia this weekend.
“These teams are ranked higher than us, so it’s a great opportunity for our team,” head coach Todd Bramble said. “We’re pretty excited.”
The weekend games may decide the fate of the Crimson Tide and their advancement in the SEC tournament.
“These games will either make us or break us,” Bramble said.
The top eight teams in the SEC overall will advance to the SEC Tournament. The Tide is currently ranked third in the SEC West and will go into the weekend with a 2-5-1 SEC record and a 7-7-2 record overall.
Tennessee (12-4-0, 5-3-0 SEC) is currently ranked fourth in the SEC East and 26th overall. Georgia (12-4-0, 6-2-0 SEC) is currently ranked second in the SEC East and 46th overall.
“These games are not only important to the rankings, but also so we can get a good 90 minute game under our belt,” senior goalkeeper Justine Bernier said. “It’s going to be huge for us to start out strong and finish strong.”
The Tide split its last two games with a win against Arkansas 3-0 and a loss against LSU 2-0.
Bernier said the team needs to have the mentality to give the games their all this weekend.
“We need to keep competing no matter what happens,” Bernier said. “If we go into the game thinking we are going to compete in every play, then at the end of the game we’re going to be really happy with the results.”
Bramble said the team is not changing a lot, but they’re working on gaining scoring chances for the upcoming games.
“We’ve been doing good this season,” Bramble said. “We just need to work on scoring some more goals.”
The Tide will play the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers at home on Thursday, Oct. 20, and then the team will travel to Athens, Ga., to face the University of Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday, Oct. 23.
“Playing Tennessee at home is going to be huge because we have an amazing support system at home and amazing fans that come out,” Bernier said. “It’s going to be a really good weekend.”
