Alabama
8-4-3 (3-2-2SEC)
Arkansas
7-3-5 (3-1-3SEC)
Soccer Breaks Even with Arkansas on Friday Night, 0-0
10/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team broke even with the Arkansas Razorbacks, 0-0, on Friday night at the Alabama Soccer Complex, going into the Tide's fifth overtime game this season.
"It's always mixed emotions when you tie a game," said Alabama head coach Todd Bramble. "Some ties feel like wins; some ties are disappointing and feel like losses. We're not feeling too good after this game. We felt like we had chances to win it. I'm proud of the effort of our team."
Alabama has now gone into overtime five times this season and remains undefeated in extra time, going 2-0-3 in those contests. The Tide has been putting in extra hours in SEC play as well, competing in extra minutes in four of their seven conference matchups thus far.
"(The amount of overtime games) speaks about the parity of the league," said Bramble. "There are so many good teams and all of these games have been so close. In this case, we're going to overtime 0-0. Arkansas is a team that scores a lot of goals off of set plays. I was proud that we were going into overtime 0-0, because we didn't give up a goal. It's a shame that we couldn't score a goal"
Regulation produced 31 shots for both teams, including 10 shots on, but no goals sending the game to extra time. In overtime, Alabama accumulated eight shots compared to Arkansas' three, including a 6-0 ratio in the second overtime, but neither team was able to break through. The shutout was Emily Rusk's fifth of the season as she saved eight, tying a season-high that she set at Vanderbilt on Sept. 28.
"It was a great crowd tonight," Bramble added. "The students and Crimson Chaos did a great job for us. It's disappointing that we can't send this group away with a win. I think that they can appreciate the effort that this team put in tonight."
Alabama earned its portion of the shots, producing 20 for the evening and putting five on goal. The 20 shots set the team total at 272 for the season which ranks as the 10th most all-time for a season in Alabama soccer history. After placing the five shots on, the Tide has accumulated 121 shots on goal thus far which ranks ninth all-time in Alabama history.
After tonight's 110 minutes, Alabama sits at 8-4-3, with a 3-2-2 SEC record, while maintaining a clean mark in extra time at 2-0-3 on the season. Arkansas remains a point ahead of the Tide, now sitting at 7-3-5 for the season and 3-1-3 in SEC play.
Following tonight's match, Alabama will head west Sunday to take on Missouri. The Tide and Tigers have only met once in series history with the Tigers coming out on top, 2-1, on Oct. 14, 2012, in Tuscaloosa. Sunday's game will kick off at 1 p.m. and air on SECN+.
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaSoccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
