Alabama Soccer Opens Conference Play At Georgia and Tennessee
10/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
 |
|
This is sample copy used to show how text in this The University of Alabama women's soccer team (9-1) will finally get a taste of conference play this weekend as the team hits the road to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (4-5-1) and the No. 14 ranked (Soccer America) Tennessee Lady Vols (6-3).
"Every game in the SEC is important," said Alabama Head Coach Don Staley. "When you look at this weekend, it's extremely important for us. It's the East versus the West; it's a way for us to get a leg up on the West if we can go out there and take care of business."
The Crimson Tide will start the weekend off in Athens, Georgia where they have never won. The Bulldogs, who are currently receiving votes in the Soccertimes.com poll, are coming a huge weekend where they defeated then No. 22 ranked Duke 1-0.
The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 2-2 with Alabama taking the first two matches and the Bulldogs winning the last two, including a 1-0 overtime win in Athens during the '99 season. None of the matches have lacked excitement with all four being decided by one goal.
While Alabama carries a No. 10 regional ranking into the match, the Bulldogs have certainly seen their fair share of ranked opponents, having already faced the likes of then No. 14 Clemson, then No. 16 Wake Forest, then No. 8 Connecticut, then No. 9 Michigan and their most recent match against Duke. Georgia is 2-3 in matches this season against nationally ranked opponents.
The UT Lady Vols have not shied away from the top competition either having faced four Top 25 teams including matches against then No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 Santa Clara last weekend in the Santa Clara Adidas Classic. The Lady Vols are 1-3 against ranked opponents so far this season.
"Neither Georgia nor Tennessee has backed away from anybody," said Staley. "I really respect their schedules and what they've done. You can disregard their results because they've played some really top-notch competition."
Alabama comes into the match riding a six-match winning streak. The Crimson Tide is led by junior Dawn Nash and sophomore Katie French who rank third and fourth in the conference in points with 22 and 20 respectively. Defensively, Alabama ranks sixth in the nation with a 0.60 shutout percentage, including three consecutive shutouts and seven total on the season.
"I'm really anxious to get out there and see how we match up with the rest of the SEC," said Staley. "We'll come out and play with confidence I'm sure of that. We're looking for results this weekend; there won't be any moral victories."
Following its match with Georgia, Alabama will travel to Knoxville, where they have not been since 1999, for a Sunday afternoon match with Tennessee.
The Tide and the Lady Vols' all-time series is also tied at two wins apiece. Similar to that of the Georgia series, Alabama won the first two matches against Tennessee with the Lady Vols taking the last two matches. However, Alabama might have the biggest win of the series, defeating UT in the 1998 SEC Tournament 1-0.
Alabama and Georgia are scheduled to kick-off at 7:00 p.m. ET, Friday night, while the Tide and the Lady Vols will get under way at 2:00 p.m. ET, Sunday afternoon. Both matches can be followed with 'Live Statistics' available at www.rolltide.com.
