The Alabama women’s soccer team acquired another exhibition shutout against the South Alabama Jaguars, 4-0, Saturday night at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
”It was not easy for us to break them down,” head coach Wes Hart said. “Once we get that first goal, the flood gates open up, and sure enough, we got that first one and within minutes we got the second one.”
The match started out slow as the first half concluded with both teams scoreless. However, despite the stalemate, Alabama maintained possession of the ball in the attacking direction for 72 percent of the first half.
In the second half, the Crimson Tide came out strong and maintained dominance, scoring four goals in a 14-minute span. Freshman Macy Clem put the Tide on the board in the 56th minute, thanks to assists from teammates sophomore Riley Mattingly and junior Kaley Verpaele. Not long after, Mattingly registered a goal of her own by launching a successful penalty kick into the net.
Mattingly tallied her second assist of the game, when junior Casey Wertz knocked one in at the 62nd minute. Junior Taylor Morgan topped the score off with passes from freshman Carly Wyatt and sophomore Gabby Duca with 20 minutes remaining to give the Tide a 4-0 lead.
A strong offensive performance led Alabama to outshoot the Jaguars 22-2. Freshman A.J. Crooks had a silent night between the posts as she registered one save in 90 minutes of regulation.
’We are pleased with the younger players, the freshmen, and how they’ve come in and raised the bar,” Hart said. “Our juniors and seniors have done an incredible job as well with their leadership and the way they’ve embraced the young players. They’re doing an incredible job.”
Alabama will kick off the 2019 regular season on Thursday, Aug. 22 against BYU at 7 p.m. CT at the Alabama Sports Stadium. Admission is free to all home games.
