Soccer Heads to Tennessee for Thursday Night Matchup
10/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 22, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (9-6-1, 4-4-0 SEC) will head to Knoxville, Tenn. for a rare Thursday night match. The Crimson Tide will face the Tennessee Lady Vols (8-8-0, 5-3-0 SEC) at 6:00 p.m. CT at the Regal Soccer Stadium. Alabama splits its last weekend games while Tennessee earned a sweep over the Mississippi programs. The match will be televised on Fox Sports South with Justin Cazana and Jenn Hildreth calling the action.
Who to Watch: Alabama sophomore forward Brooke Rogers continues to be a force as she leads the Crimson Tide during SEC play. The Cincinnati, Ohio native leads Alabama with eight points on three goals and two assists during league action. She recorded her third conference goal of the season early in the second half against No. 10 Florida with a nice header that was directed far post to pull the Tide within one. Overall on the season the super sub has 10 points on three goals and four assists.
Last Time Out: After once again earning a big Friday win the Alabama soccer team suffered a tough defeat to a highly ranked squad. The Crimson Tide fell at home to the No. 10 ranked Gators 6-1 at the Alabama Soccer Complex. After two first half goals Alabama rallied back and pulled to within one on a Brooke Rogers goal but Florida then opened the match wide open with four unanswered goals to earn the win.
Scouting Tennessee: Tennessee is coming off a weekend sweep in Mississippi that saw it top Ole Miss, 1-0, on Friday and earn a comeback win over Mississippi State on Sunday. Tennessee now sits in third place in the SEC East. The Lady Vols have won five of its last six matches with a streak that spans back to a 2-1 win over LSU on Oct. 3. As a team the Lady Vols have out-scored its opposition 22-20 and have out-shot their opponents 286-168. Individually Kylee Rossi paces the SEC with 12 goals. She has recorded 25 points and handed out an assist. Devon Swaim follows with nine points on three goals and three assists. The three assists are tied with Mick Imgram for the team lead. In goal, Jaimel Johnson has logged the majority of the minutes. Johnson sports a 1.27 goals against average and has made 53 saves and posted four shutouts.
Alabama vs. Tennessee: The Series Thursday's meeting will mark the 10th time the two programs square off with UT holding the 7-2 advantage all-time. Tennessee has taken each of the last seven meetings, including last year's 2-1 victory at Alabama. The Lady Vols are 4-0 in Knoxville against the Crimson Tide and have out-scored UA 12-4 in those contests. The last Alabama victory came in a 1-0 decision in Tuscaloosa in 1998.
Bramble vs. Tennessee: Alabama head coach Todd Bramble has faced Tennessee three times in his coaching career. In the three contests Bramble is 1-2 overall. The one win was his first career victory over a top-25 opponent. Clemson defeated UT 4-3 on the road on Sept. 23, 2001. After dropping a home contest to the Lady Vols in 2002, Tennessee also proved to be the last match Bramble would coach on the Tigers sideline. UT knocked out CU in double overtime in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament by the score of 1-0 on Nov. 18.
Race to Orange Beach: The Alabama soccer team currently sits in seventh place in the overall SEC standings and is tied for third in the SEC West. Eight teams will make its way down to Orange Beach for the conference tournament. The last time Alabama played in the SEC Tournament was in 2004 when the Crimson Tide fell to Florida 2-0 on Nov. 3. Prior to 2004, the last time Alabama played in the SEC tournament was in 1998.
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: As a team the Crimson Tide paces the conference with eight shutouts. UA ranks second in saves per game with 6.38 and saves with 102. The Crimson Tide also checks in at number one in shutouts per game at 0.50. Individually Kailey Corken ranks eighth in goals with six and fourth in game-winning goals with three. A quartet of Crimson Tide players ranks ninth in assists with four (Jessica Deegan, Victoria Frederick, Brooke Rogers, Kelsey King). Deegan also ranks fifth in shots with 44 and sixth in shots per game with 2.75. Rogers is 10th in shots on goal with 18 and ninth in shot percentage with a .667 ledger. In goal, Kara Gudmens is third in saves with 91, second ins saves per game with 6.07, second in shutouts with six and third in shutouts per game with 0.40.
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 tied for third 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 last 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 16 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 91 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 of the streak came 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 15-8 in Tuscaloosa and has posted seven shutouts overall at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
Next Time Out: Alabama will cap off its long week with its final home match of the season. The Crimson Tide will face the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. at the UA Soccer Complex. The match will mark senior day for nine players as they will be suiting up for the last time in front of the Alabama faithful.
