Soccer Concludes Weekend with No. 10 Florida
10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 18, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (9-5-1, 4-3-0 SEC) will close out its home weekend slate against the No. 10 ranked Florida Gators (12-2-1, 7-0-0 SEC). The two teams will face off on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m. at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The Crimson Tide is coming off a 1-0 victory over South Carolina while the Gators defeated Auburn 1-0 on Friday night. The match will be televised on Cox Sports with Steve Babik and Matt Stubbington calling the action.
Who to Watch: Alabama sophomore midfielder Rosaly Petriello scored her second goal in as many weekends to help guide the Tide to a thrilling 1-0 victory over South Carolina. Going scoreless her first 12 matches of the season, Petriello has now scored twice in the last four matches. The Saint Catharines, Ontario now has six points on two goals and two assists. Alabama has won all four games Petriello has scored a point this season.
Last Time Out: The Alabama soccer team continues to shine under the lights on Friday nights as the Crimson Tide earned a crucial Southeastern Conference victory over South Carolina by the score of 1-0 at the Alabama Soccer Complex Friday night. Sophomore midfielder Rosaly Petriello provided all the offense the Tide would need as she drilled a left footed volley off a Kailey Corken corner kick in the 17th minute. Junior goalkeeper Kara Gudmens tallied her sixth shutout on the year on the strength of eight saves.
Scouting Florida: Florida enters Tuscaloosa with a 12-2-1 overall record and a perfect 7-0-0 SEC mark. The seven wins pace not just the Eastern Division but the entire conference. On the road the Gators have a 5-1-1 record, falling to No. 5 Portland in the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 19. That loss was the last time Florida suffered a defeat. The Gators extended its winning streak to eight by earning a 1-0 victory over Auburn Friday. As a team Florida has out-scored the opposition 33-14 but has been out-shot 181-171. Leading the way offensively for the Gators is Ameera Abdullah and her 18 points on five goals and eight assists. Megan Kerns follows with 16 points on six goals and four assists while Tahnai Annis has recorded 15 points on six goals and three assists. In between the pipes, Meghan Berlingo and Katie Fraine have split time. Berlingo earned the shutout win against Auburn to lead the team with three shutouts and a 0.53 goals against average. Fraine has played more minutes and made 29 saves.
Alabama vs. Florida: The Series Sunday's meeting will mark the 12th time the two programs square off. The two teams have met six times in Tuscaloosa with the Gators holding a 6-0 advantage. Overall Florida leads the series 10-0-1. The two teams last met in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 24, 2006 where Florida earned a 4-1 win. The Gators won last year's match 5-1 in Gainesville. The lone point for the Tide came in Gainesville in a 2-2 tie in 2005.
Bramble vs. Florida: Alabama head coach Todd Bramble has faced Florida three times in his coaching career. In the three contests Bramble is 1-2 overall. The one win did come at home. The Gators have out-scored the Bramble led squads 9-7.Bramble last went up against Florida on Nov. 2, 2002 where Clemson earned a 5-2 win at home.
Friday Night Lights: The Alabama soccer team has had great success under the lights on Friday nights. Of the nine wins on the season for the Tide six have come on a Friday night. Alabama has won six consecutive Friday night contests. The last time Alabama won back-to-back-to-back Friday night SEC contests was in 2004.Overall Alabama sports a 6-1-1 overall record on Friday nights. The Tide has yet to lose a Friday night game at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
League Leaders: Alabama senior midfielder Kailey Corken is currently ranked fourth in goals with six and seventh in goals per game with 0.43. She is also ranked second in game winning goals with three. Junior Kelsey King and Victoria Frederick are ranked seventh in assists with four. Senior midfielder Jessica Deegan checks in at sixth in shots with 40 and shots per game with 2.86. Sophomore forward Victoria Frederick and Brooke Rogers has drilled 17 shots on frame which ranks 10th overall. Alabama junior goalkeeper Kara Gudemsn ranks third in saves (79), second in saves per game (6.08), third in shutouts (5) and fourth in shutouts per game with 0.38. Her 1.14 goals against average ranks fourth in the SEC (as of 10/17/08).
SEC Wins: In just his first season at the helm the Alabama soccer team has won four SEC matches under the watch of Todd Bramble. The four wins is the most by any Crimson Tide team since the 2004 season when the Tide won five league games. The four wins in just seven SEC matches is the most since Alabama won four in its first five in 1998. Alabama is currently fourth in the SEC West Division. The last time Alabama defeated a SEC team that won 10 or more games was Auburn in 2005. South Carolina came into Tuscaloosa Friday with a 10-2-1 record.
Production Increase: Under the direction of first year head coach Todd Bramble several Alabama veteran players are having career years just 15 matches into the season. Seven players, five of which are upperclassmen have already set career bests in certain offensive categories. Senior Jessica Deegan has already bettered her all-time total of goals by finding the back of the net four times this season. She has also set a career season best with 11 points. Her previous best was eight points in 2005. Senior Kailey Corken has tallied a career best six goals this season. She found the net four times in 18 games in 2007. Sophomore forward Victoria Frederick and Brooke Rogers has dished out career-highs in assists with four apiece. Senior Jamie Zimmerman has also set a career best already this season with two helpers. Junior Kara Gudmens has bettered her career best saves output with 87 and has done the same in the shutout category with six.
Home Sweet Home: Alabama started off its 2008 home slate in impressive fashion as it did not allow an opponent to score in its first six home matches. The Crimson Tide opened its home slate with a 3-0 shutout victory over Jacksonville State on Aug. 31. Alabama goalkeepers Kara Gudmens and Karen Lansden combined to blank the Gamecocks. On Sept. 12, Gudmens held in-state rival Samford scoreless with her first shutout of 2008. Gudmens followed that up by blanking Wright State in double overtime on Sept. 14. UA then swept another weekend with shutouts over UTC (5-0) and Mississippi Valley State (1-0). Lansden earned her first shutout on the year against the Devilettes on Sept. 21. The last shutout came on Friday against MSU by the score of 1-0. Alabama had its streak snapped 25 seconds into the Ole Miss game. Alabama did not allow a goal for 555 minutes at home. The Crimson Tide has out-scored the opposition 14-2 in Tuscaloosa and has posted seven shutouts overall at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
Next Time Out: Alabama will play a rare Thursday game under the lights in Knoxville, Tenn. against the Volunteers on Oct. 23 at 6:00 p.m. Alabama closes out its home schedule against Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m.
