Alabama Soccer Newcomer Itala Gemelli Already Making an Impact

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The Alabama soccer team boasts one of the best incoming transfers in the SEC this season. Formerly scoring goals for the Dayton Flyers, new Alabama forward Itala Gemelli donned crimson for the first time in a regular season match on Thursday.

All the senior did last season, her third at the collegiate level, was lead the nation in game-winning goals and make the A-10 All Conference First Team, leading that conference in goals with 12. It didn't take the United Soccer Coaches preseason watchlist member long to get in the scoring column in Tuscaloosa— inside of one half, in fact.

In the 43rd minute of the Crimson Tide's season opener, she made good on an opening in the DePaul back line and scored the goal that ultimately proved to put the contest out of reach. During the 2-0 win, Gemelli had a chance at a brace, just missing her first opportunity earlier in the first half.

"It felt so good. I was very, very excited," she said. "Different league, different state, different team, it felt really, really good. [I] had lots of energy, and just was so excited to get it in the back of the net."

She said her decision to come to Alabama, where she has the opportunity to make an instant impact as a proficient and established scorer, was in the interest of her aspirations to play professionally.

"Slowly but surely, I've definitely worked my way into [the SEC]," Gemelli said. "It is different than the A-10 was. It has a higher pace. Everybody's working extremely, extremely hard. I think I have worked my way into it, found my groove, and gotten more and more used to it. It's been a lot of fun."

Gemelli's role this season is an important one. The program just lost its all-time single season scoring leader, Riley Mattingly Parker, and with her the other player on the 2022 team to record 10 or more goals, Ashlynn Serepca.

"[The new players] have big shoes to fill," head coach Wes Hart said. "We lost some good ones... We need players to step up and fill those holes. There's gonna be some time to adjust, but I thought, at first glance, first game, I thought they showed some real promise. Certainly, we're excited about the future."

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