Alabama Soccer Dealt Second SEC Loss Against Kentucky

In a battle between two defensively sound teams, it often comes down to whomever is able to get the edge one extra time. On Friday night in Lexington, Ky., that was Kentucky. More specifically, it was Wildcats forward Jordyn Rhodes, whose brace steered her to the school's all-time goals record and her team to its 2-1 win. The result marked the Wildcats' first SEC win since Oct. 24, 2021.

No. 9 Alabama (7-2-4) has now dropped two consecutive road matches, and been outscored 7-1 in those contests.

Kentucky, while undefeated, was still searching for its first league win of the campaign. The Wildcats are now 7-0-4 with three draws in conference play. With a home victory over No. 9, Kentucky blue just might feature in next week's rankings.

"It's not a fluke that they are undefeated through the first 11 games of the season," Alabama head coach Wes Hart said.

The lone goal for the Crimson Tide came on an equalizer from Nadia Ramadan. The freshman midfielder started on Friday, and her physical play style lends itself well to her position. It was finesse that helped her capture her second goal of the fall. In the 70th minute, she and defender Gessica Skorka went back and forth on an offensive sequence that saw the ball roll past Marz Josephson and into the Wildcat net.

"She [Ramadan] looks better and better each week," Hart said. "She scored a great goal and nearly set Itala [Gemelli] up for another." The play to which he was referring occurred roughly 90 seconds prior to the score, when Gemelli just missed on a scorcher that was caught by Josephson.

By then, Rhodes had already notched one, making the most of a breakaway in the 60th minute along with her teammates and sending a shot over Coralie Lallier's head. Josephson's slip on Ramadan's score was her only blemish of the night. That would not be the case for Alabama's freshman goalkeeper, who has had the unfortunate luck of being in net for both of her squad's defeats.

In the 74th minute, the Wildcats took a corner kick off the leg of Grace Philpotts. Rhodes got her head on it, and it was too high for Lallier's outstretched right hand to bat down. That was the record. It was also the game winner. The Crimson Tide's offense has struggled in putting up multiple scores per match. The only time Alabama has done that since a Sept. 7 contest against Southern Miss was in a Sept. 17 win against Mercer.

Chances weren't lacking for Alabama in the match's final moments. Gianna Paul, who started after minimum playing time in the team's last outing (ankle injury), launched one in the 84th minute from outside the box that almost crept between Josephson and the crossbar. Almost, however, doesn't reflect on the scoreboard. In this case, that word took on a new moniker: Marz Josephson, who leapt for the save. The last shot the Crimson Tide took in the match came with less than a minute to go, when midfielder Isabel Smith sent one off target. Kentucky only outshot the Crimson Tide by one, 12 to 11, but the 3-2 shots on goal margin in favor of the blue team proved to be the decider.

"I was pleased with our performance," said Hart. "We played well at times. Just lacked the quality needed on the final pass. We got into some dangerous spots and our final pass let us down."

There were some emotions at play. Each team had three yellow cards. The only two in the first half were shown to Alabama. It was chippy. There were competitive words, with a hard tackle here and there. The squads kept it together enough to remain competitive without significant distractions. In the end, that aspect of the match was not what kept the Crimson Tide from winning or tying things up for a second time. The Alabama back line was superb. Center back Sasha Pickard was all over the place in spite of one of the aforementioned yellows going against her. Fellow defender Skorka assisted Ramadan's goal.

For as tough as road competitions can be in this sport, it will be more than a week before the Crimson Tide must face another one. The next matchup on the slate is an Iron Bowl match with Auburn. In last season's meeting, Riley Tanner's 86th-minute goal propelled Alabama to a 10-0 SEC regular season.

In Hart's eyes, that is squarely where his team's focus now needs to be following Friday's result. This season's rivalry matchup is set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on Oct. 5.

Alabama Soccer Dealt Second SEC Loss Against Kentucky

See Also:

Riley Tanner: Alabama Alumna's Journey to World Cup a Dream Come True