Alabama Soccer Bests Memphis in War of Attrition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Ranked matchups in August have continued to be kind to the Alabama soccer team. 364 days ago, the Crimson Tide scored a program-defining win over then-No. 18 Clemson, which launched the 2022 team's trajectory into the stratosphere and set the program on a renewed course of success. On Sunday evening, No. 17 Memphis, which scored 13 total goals in three matches entering the contest, sought to be the team to end what is now a 22-match home unbeaten streak.

Like the last time Memphis faced an SEC West team on its turf, the effort fell short. No. 7 Alabama overcame a physical game to take a 2-1 win and bring its record to 4-0.

The scoring output won't jump off the page, but some other numbers might. The teams combined for 25 fouls and eight yellow cards.

"It was a little chippy," head coach Wes Hart said. "I like to see the fight in our team. That's who we want to be. We want to have a little bit of edge and toughness to us. I don't mind that one bit."

The first goal of the match belonged to Gianna Paul, who is now up to three goals in four regular season matches after her score at roughly the halfway point of the first stanza. Midfielder Felicia Knox added an assist, a statistic in which she led the entire nation last fall, but she wasn't done. The winner came off of her right foot in the 66th minute on a penalty kick.

A handball call midway through the second half kept the ball in Alabama's half, and then another more controversial one set Knox up to take the penalty kick.

"I couldn't see exactly where it hit off. Obviously, the ref made the decision he did," Knox said. "Based off of what I know, the VAR, I think once you call the play, you can't really take it back. We were fortunate enough to get the PK. I just really felt relaxed, and calm, and didn't think much of it. I picked the side I was going to and just tucked it away."

The Tigers had equaled the score minutes into the second half, when Izzy Monck connected with Anna Hauer with the Crimson Tide defense out of position. The game was close all the way through, and nearly even on the box score. Alabama had 19 shots to the Tigers' 17, and Memphis had five shots on goal to Alabama's six.

The theme on paper was that despite the visitors' grit, the Crimson Tide always had one more.

Alabama had one more shot on goal. Alabama had one more save. The Crimson Tide took one more corner (five to four). The ultimate statistic? Goals. Alabama had one more of those, too.

"We didn't back off just because we were winning," midfielder Macy Clem said. "It was like that after they scored, and then we scored again. It wasn't like we were just gonna back off and not play like ourselves because of the score of the game." The match was Clem's first at home of the regular season following her return to action last Thursday.

Hart, for one, is thrilled that his team is back at full strength.

"It's huge," he said. "I would've loved to have had a big squad so preseason could have gone a little smoother, but I'll trade that for having a big squad now. That depth is important... I thought our substitutes came in and added a great deal. You look at Tanna [Sanchez-Carreto] came in, [Kate] Henderson came in, Syd Japic came in and gave Macy a rest, Bella [Scaturro Bright] came in. I could go down the list, and they all had awesome performances.

"We came with our energy, and our pressing, and our hunting and our work rate. That sets the tone for our soccer," he said. "I'm pleased with the performance. I would say, just from our work rate, that's who we are. That's kinda where the foundation of our soccer is, our hard work, our pressing, our hunting. And then the soccer comes out. But without that foundation of hard work, we're an average team. Tonight, I thought we were excellent."

"I think it was a confidence booster," Knox said. "I think we needed to play a team like a Memphis, or a team that was ranked, to see if we were rise to the challenge in a way. Obviously, we succeeded, and we put together a lot of pieces tonight and grew our confidence for the future games."

The Crimson Tide defense was huge in the match. That includes the midfield and the back line, which were consistent in helping the team defend against the Tigers' threats while also playing a role in positioning the offense to capitalize. Coralie Lallier got the start in net in the biggest test of her short career to date. It was also the best performance of her young career. Her four saves got the job done and impressed her veteran teammates.

"She came in in the spring as a freshman, and she came in with such a voice, to be that young. To be in the goal, directing people, making big saves, being demanding," Clem said. "Having that confidence is so huge to play at the collegiate level, and she came in and she did that tonight."

"We needed a couple big saves from her," Knox said. "Those are game-changing saves for us. It's hard as a keeper to be back there and not necessarily have a save, and then all of a sudden have to make a big one. Especially as a freshman, for her to stay focused that whole 90 minutes is pretty crazy. Between her and Dylan [Pixton], we feel pretty comfortable back there."

Alabama does not have to go on the road for its next match, and there's a revenge element to it. Miami was the only team to beat the Crimson Tide in the 2022 regular season, notching a 1-0 shutout in Coral Gables on Aug. 21, 2022. This time, the Hurricanes travel to Tuscaloosa. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on Thursday.

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