Soccer Faces No. 7 Florida in First Round
11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Nov. 4, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (9-8-2, 4-6-1 SEC) will head to Orange Beach, Ala. for the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 2004. The Crimson Tide enters the bracket as the No. 8 seed and will face the No. 1 seeded Florida Gators (16-2-1, 11-0-0 SEC). The two teams will square off at 5:00 p.m. at the Orange Beach SportsPlex.
Who to Watch: Four members of the Tide enter Wednesday's contest with double-digits in scoring. Senior Kailey Corken leads the way with a career-high 15 points on six goals and three assists. Senior Jessica Deegan closely follows with 12 points on four goals and four assists while sophomores Victoria Frederick and Brooke Rogers have tallied 10 points apiece. Rogers paces UA in points during SEC action with eight points on three goals and two assists.
Last Time Out: Alabama concluded its regular season schedule with a 4-0 loss at rival Auburn on Oct. 31. Despite the loss against the Tiger on Friday the Crimson Tide got a little help from its rival to the west. LSU defeated Arkansas 3-1 which enabled Alabama to head to the Gulf Coast with 13 points compared to the 12 earned by the Razorbacks.
Scouting Florida: The Gators enter the SEC Tournament with a 16-2-1 overall record and an 11-0 conference record. The 11 wins in conference action is an all-time first for league affiliates. Florida is coming off a 1-0 win over South Carolina to wrap up its regular season. The Gators have dominated their opponents offensively, out-scoring them 45-16 but they have been out-shot 226-216. Leading the way has been Megan Kerns and her 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists. Kerns tallied a hat-trick against the Tide earlier in the season. Florida's head coach Becky Burleigh was named the Southeastern Coach of the Year and UF lead the league with four soccer players named to All-SEC teams. Three Gators - Florida seniors Ameera Abdullah and Kerns plus junior Ashlee Elliott - are among the 12-member All-SEC first team. In goal, Meghan Berlingo played the majority of the minutes. Berlingo made 40 saves, posted five shutouts and sports a 0.45 goals against average with a perfect 12-0 record.
Alabama vs. Florida: The Series Wednesday's meeting will mark the 13th time the two programs square off. The two teams have met six times in Tuscaloosa with the Gators holding a 7-0 advantage. Overall Florida leads the series 11-0-1. The two teams last met in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 20 where Florida earned a 6-1 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. The two teams meet in the SEC Tournament in 2004 in Auburn where the Gators earned a 2-0 win. That was the lone neutral site matchup between the two squads.
Bramble vs. Florida: Alabama head coach Todd Bramble has faced Florida four times in his coaching career. In the four contests Bramble is 1-3 overall. The one win did come at home. The Gators have out-scored the Bramble led squads 15-8. Bramble earned the win against Florida on Nov. 2, 2002 where Clemson earned a 5-2 victory at home. Alabama faced Florida earlier this season on Oct. 20 in Tuscaloosa. The Tide fell 6-1.
Return to Orange Beach: The Alabama soccer team will head to Orange Beach for the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 2004 and for just the second time since 1998. Alabama last went to the SEC Tournament when it was held in Auburn in 2004. The Crimson Tide fell to the Gators 2-0 on Nov. 4. UA finished the 2004 campaign with a 10-11 overall record - its last double digit win total. Prior to 2004 Alabama earned its last victory in the SEC Tournament on Nov. 5, 1998 when the Tide blanked the Tennessee Lady Vols 1-0 in Tuscaloosa. UA won 13 games that season and made its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Rogers Named to the All-SEC Second Team: Alabama sophomore forward Brooke Rogers was named to the All-SEC Second Team as announced by the conference office Tuesday. The honor marks a career first for the Cincinnati, Ohio native. With the honor Rogers becomes the first member of the Crimson Tide to earn first or second team accolades since Libby Probst was tabbed to the second team in 2004. Justine Bernier and Victoria Frederick were named to the All-Freshman team last season. Rogers paced the Tide during conference action with eight points on three goals and two assists. Overall Rogers was tied for third on the squad with 10 points on three goals and four assists. Her four helpers were tied for the team lead.
Bramble in Conference Tournaments: First-year Alabama head coach Todd Bramble makes his first appearance at the SEC Tournament. Bramble led Clemson to a 4-7 ACC Tournament record and under his tutelage Bramble had five All-ACC Tournament selections. Bramble led Clemson to seven-straight NCAA Tournaments and had his Tigers squad advance to three ACC semi-finals and one finals appearance.
Season Recap: In just his first year at the helm of the Crimson Tide head coach Todd Bramble led Alabama to numerous records and firsts. Alabama started off the Bramble era win an impressive shutout record. The Tide posted six shutouts to start the 2008 home campaign which broke the record previously held in 1988. After the first weekend of the season sophomore Victoria Frederick became the first offensive player to earn SEC weekly honors. Alabama has a total of two weekly honors. Kara Gudmens was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Brooke Rogers became the first member of the Tide to earn first or second team honors since 2004. Alabama is making its first SEC tournament appearance since 2004.
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 finished the season fourth in the SEC West.
Production Increase: Under the direction of first year head coach Todd Bramble several Alabama veteran players are having career years just 18 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 12 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 103 and has done the same in the shutout category with six.
Next Time Out: Alabama will look to continue its season with a win over Florida. Pending the victory the Tide will advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of the South Carolina and Georgia matchup. The semifinal will be played on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
