ORANGE BEACH — Despite a second-half rally, Alabama could not climb out of a two-score deficit and ended competition at the 2017 SEC Tournament in Orange Beach on Sunday, falling to the Missouri Tigers, 3-1.
“Certainty disappointed with the result today, but you have to give Missouri a lot of credit,” coach Wes Hart said. “They jumped on us early and we weren’t able to answer. I applaud our group’s effort for finishing the game strong and creating some chances at the end, but at the end of the day, it was too little, too late.”
“I don’t want this to take away from our season and what we have been able to accomplish,” Hart continued. “The run we had at the end of SEC play to get us into the tournament and finish the regular season in seventh was great for us. We have won 12 games and put ourselves in a position to get an NCAA berth for the third time in program history. I don’t want today to define us. We will bounce back and will be better.”
Missouri (8-11-1, 3-7 SEC) held the advantage in shots, 16-11, and shots on goal, 8-5, while the Crimson Tide (12-7-1, 4-6-1 SEC) earned three more corner kicks than the Tigers (9-6). Jimenez Delgado led Alabama’s offense netting one goal on a pair of shots on target, while senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton made five saves in 90 minutes in the net.
Up next, Missouri will advance to play the No. 2 seed Texas A&M on Tuesday while the Tide will await a berth to the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 6.
