Alabama Athletics
Golden goal lifts Alabama soccer past Mississippi State in overtime, 3-2
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A 96th-minute strike from Gabby Duca in overtime was the difference as Alabama defeated Mississippi State 3-2 in overtime.
“We knew we needed to walk away with three points and we didn’t care what it took,” freshman goalkeeper A.J. Crooks said. “We all just left our hearts out on the field and knew we could not leave with a loss.”
The Crimson Tide took the lead in the 8th minute through Reyna Reyes. Following a corner, sophomore defender Abby Bivens collected the ball on the left side of the box and slotted it in to the freshman defender who lashed home her effort from inside the penalty spot.
Alabama doubled its lead in the 19th minute in seemingly the same manner. After a spell of intense pressure, Casey Wertz gathered the ball on the left side of the box, slapping her pass into the path of junior defender Brynn Martin who put the ball into the bottom right corner.
At the brink of halftime, Mississippi State drew a goal back when Miranda Carrasco’s attempt from distance took a wicked deflection, catching Crooks out of her net. Carrasco’s attempt looped just out of her reach as it drifted into the top right corner.
The second half was a wide-open affair that saw both teams creating opportunities at will. Riley Mattingly nearly gave the Crimson Tide the cushion it desired by way of a headed attempt off a cross from Serena Pham, but her shot drifted just wide of the post.
Mississippi State found its equalizer in the 74th minute through an Alabama own goal. The ball deflected off an Alabama defender after a long throw in from Mississippi State’s Hailey Zerbel.
“That game got out of control and that doesn’t suit us,” Crimson Tide coach Wes Hart said. “When a game is back and forth and the field is stretched, that’s not what we’re good at.”
Alabama opened the first period of overtime with a pair of close header attempts from Mattingly and Kat Rogers. The Crimson Tide continued its period of dominance throughout the extra fame, limiting the Bulldogs attempt of escaping its own half.
Alabama’s golden goal finally came in the 96th minute, when Wertz went for a blistering run down the right wing, eventually sliding a ball across the face of the goal that Duca notched home for the win.
“That was so exciting,” Duca said. “I haven’t scored much this season so to finally get a goal and for it to be a game-winner is just extra exciting.”
The Bulldogs (6-5-1, 1-2-1 SEC) outshot the Crimson Tide 18-15 in the match, but Alabama was more effective with its shots, placing seven on goal as opposed to six from Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide also held a 7-6 advantage on corner kicks.
Crooks recorded five saves in the match, with many coming at the most crucial moments in the match.
“Our team definitely grinded that one out,” Crooks said. “We deserved that win. We’ve been training hard all week for Mississippi State and we got the result we wanted.”
Alabama (7-4-1 overall, 2-2 SEC) will travel to face Texas A&M on Thursday, Oct. 10.
“It’s a big relief going into Texas A&M having two wins under our belt,” Duca said. “We’re pretty confident to go to Texas and play A&M.”
