Alabama soccer defeats Southern Miss in sudden-death overtime, 3-2

The Crimson Tide led two goals to none early in the second half, but a pair of goals by Southern Miss in the same minute nearly ended chances of Alabama moving to 3-1 on the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama led Southern Miss early on, and like its previous match to Lamar, there was no indication its momentum would fade. But it did, and it did quickly and (nearly) entirely. 

But the Crimson Tide looked in control until mid-second half.

"Playing on such short rest, you know, playing on Friday night then turning around and playing on Sunday afternoon is not easy, and it showed," Alabama coach Wes Hart said. "But, early on, we were active and we were busy."

Junior midfielder, or wing, Reyna Reyes is an all-important link to the Alabama attack when she's on the field. She directs traffic, plays balls through to teammates that few others can, and most importantly to the Crimson Tide, she reads the game better than most at the college level. 

The combination of she and freshman Leah Kunde on the right side of the Tide's formation led to over a dozen chances created in that area. 

But it was Alabama's Bella Scaturro, the left back of the Crimson Tide, who scored the first goal of the game in minute 28. It was her first goal of the season, one unassisted, too. And the attack didn't stop then, nor hesitate, thanks to Reyes and Kunde forming a right-sided one-two for much of the match.

Cut to halftime, and Alabama led 1-0 with 11 total shots to the five of Southern Miss. It looked to be in line with the Tide's performances to Jacksonville State and Lamar, two teams Alabama didn't allow to breathe in their own halves, much less offer up an opportunity to score easily. 

Virginia transfer Ashlynn Serepca scored the second goal for Alabama, giving it a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the second 45, by way of a penalty kick that fooled Southern Miss goal keeper Kendell Mindnich. 

Serepca pulled off a slight body faint to get the Golden Eagle going one way, then she went the other to finish off the penalty and increase the Crimson Tide's lead.

Then everything changed. And I mean everything, the momentum, the body language, the communication, or lack thereof, all of it tilted the scale to Southern Miss in the 65th minute. Suddenly Alabama's 2-0 was not only threatened, but equaled in just over one minute of play, all thanks to one freshman of the Golden Eagles, Ilana Izquierdo. 

"We gave a bad ball away that led to a goal and gave them a little life, and then another defensive mistake on our part, and the next thing you know we're in a tight game," Hart said. "As soon as they scored those goals, you could see them pick up life and us start to wilt."

The midfielder, Izquierdo, led the break past Tide defenders to net home the first Southern Miss goal, and her second goal led to more dejection on the faces of Alabama's back line. Its lead was gone because the freshman of Southern Miss put on a one-minute clinic.

You could tell, after that, the chances of Alabama regaining its advantage were slim, if nothing else by the body language its players showed once conceding two goals and, more importantly, committing two mistakes in the Tide's own half.

Poetically pleasing, and unpleasant in all other forms, not long after came late-August showers. Clockwork, meet Alabama soccer. 

Now cut to the 90th minute, when the countdown of the final seconds was chanted aloud by Crimson Tide fans hoping for, um, well, a miracle finish, one that could allow them to forget how soaked in rain they all were. 

Thanks to the rules of college soccer, there was no draw and play resumed in the form of overtime. If neither team scored, the match would go into sudden death until someone settled the standing. And it did, naturally. 

And, naturally, the player Hart praised for her soccer IQ and always being in "the right place," midfielder Felicia Knox, sent everyone in crimson and white, most of all herself, home happy with a walk-off-style goal in the final minutes of sudden death. 

The finish was symbolic of his praise, too, with its deep ranged-force and call to the 'clutch gene' with just over two minutes left in the whoever-scores-first period. 

"From a positive standpoint, you can certainly talk about not playing your best soccer and winning the game. It's important to be able to grind out wins," Hart said. "But on the other side of it, we were hoping to be able to rest some players more. We rode a few more than we would've liked, but in the end, we're happy with the result."

Alabama finished with 23 shot total, 10 on target, and Southern Miss tallied 16 with seven at Crimson Tide goal keeper McKinley Crone.

Now four games into the season, the Crimson Tide stands at 3-1 and hosts Samford on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.