Alabama
UCLA
Final Game Preparations, Media Day Highlight Alabama’s Second Day at the 2022 College Cup
12/1/2022 5:22:00 PM | Soccer
The Crimson Tide will take on UCLA in the second semifinal Friday night at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU
CARY, N.C. – The Alabama soccer team made its final preparations for its first-ever game in the College Cup debut when the Crimson Tide takes on UCLA Friday night at 7:30 p.m. CT inside WakeMed Soccer Park. The contest will be the second semifinal of the night and will follow the Florida State-North Carolina match-up with the winner of the two games squaring off in Monday's national championship match.
The Tide began Thursday – its first full day in Cary, N.C. – by making final game preparations with a morning training session that took place on the campus of NC State. Following lunch, Alabama went to WakeMed Soccer Park for media day where nine student-athletes and head coach Wes Hart participated in pregame television network interviews and photo sessions. The team then took photos and spent time on the game pitch.
Focused On Tomorrow #RollTide | #CollegeCup pic.twitter.com/x8nNrd2PNp
— Alabama Soccer (@AlabamaSoccer) December 1, 2022
The Game
- Alabama (23-2-1) vs. UCLA (20-2-1): Friday, Dec. 2 – 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET) on ESPNU
- Fans can follow the action via the team's official Twitter account, @AlabamaSoccer
- Both Alabama and UCLA were selected as No. 1 seeds in the tournament
- The winner of Friday's semifinal game will play the winner of No. 1 seed Florida State and No. 2 seed North Carolina Monday night in the national championship game
Media day at the #CollegeCup ?? ?? #RollTide | #WCollegeCup pic.twitter.com/AcUrU0bY2m
— Alabama Soccer (@AlabamaSoccer) December 1, 2022
The Tide at the NCAA Tournament
- The Crimson Tide is making its College Cup debut Friday night
- The 2022 season marked the first time Alabama competed as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in addition to the first time the program has hosted an NCAA Tournament game
- Alabama has won four games in the 2022 tournament, defeating Jackson State 9-0 in the opening round (11/11), Portland 2-1 in the second round (11/18), UC Irvine 3-1 in the third round (11/20) and Duke 3-2 in an overtime victory in the quarterfinals
- It is just the second time UA has reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament
- UA earned its second straight berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and its fifth overall appearance in the tournament.
Setting The New Standard
- Alabama has set seven team records this season, setting the new standard for points (220), goals (76), assists (68), shots (528), shots on goal (224), wins (23) and shutouts (12).
- Riley Mattingly Parker holds the UA record for points (41), goals (17) and game-winning goals (7) in a single season, while tying as the program leader in career game-winning goals (10).
- Felicia Knox broke the Tide record for assists with 20 and career assists with 25.
- In net, McKinley Crone holds a program-record 23 single-season wins and 21 career wins, in addition to holding a UA-record 10 shutouts this year to tie for most career shutouts in an Alabama uniform with 21.
- Additionally, Alabama set the facility record for attendance, welcoming 1,882 people to the Alabama Soccer Stadium for the Tide's match against Florida (10/23).
In the Rankings
- Felicia Knox holds an NCAA-leading 20 assists this season and holds the nation's second-best average for the stat at 0.77 assists per game.
- Riley Mattingly Parker has an NCAA-leading and UA record-setting seven game-winning goals this season, while Ashlynn Serepca ranks 4th for game-winning goals with six.
- Parker ranks sixth for total goals with 17 and sixth for points with 41.
- McKinley Crone ranks 13th in shutouts (10). The UA goalkeeper ranks third for career saves (433) and second for goalkeeping minutes with 9,429.77 minutes.
- The No. 2 scoring offense in the country, averaging 2.92 goals a game in addition to averaging 8.46 points per game, Alabama ranks first in total goals (76), total points (220) and total assists (68) this season.
- The Crimson Tide also ranks 19th nationally defensively with a 0.648 goals against average.
- Ashlynn Serepca leads the nation in games played, seeing time in 111 career matches, while McKinley Crone tallied her 106th career game.
The Journey
- Alabama has won a program-record 23 games this year thanks to the help of a 15-game run that featured a 10-0 performance in SEC play and an SEC Tournament Championship appearance.
- UA will end their season on a 20-game undefeated streak at the Alabama Soccer Stadium, with the last loss coming on Sept. 9, 2021 (lost 2-1 OT vs. TCU).
- Alabama advanced to the finals of the SEC Tournament for the second time in program history and first time since 1995.
- This season marked the first time UA has defeated six ranked opponents and four top-10 teams in program history, topping then-No. 5 South Carolina, then-No. 6 BYU, then-No. 7 Arkansas, then-No. 18 Clemson and then-No. 20 Ole Miss., in the regular season and No. 8 Duke in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaSoccer on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaSoccer on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
