From 14 to No. 1: Alabama Soccer's Journey to the SEC Mountaintop
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fourteenth.
That was where the Alabama's soccer team finished after Wes Hart's first season in the Southeastern Conference standings: last. The program was also ranked 213th in the RPI rankings after finishing that season 5-12-2, including 2-9 in the conference.
Since then, the Crimson Tide has slowly, but surely, progressed as a program every year, ending the 2021 season with 10 home wins (then a new record) and Alabama's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The 2022 season, filled with anticipation with the return of Riley Mattingly Parker from an ACL injury and a core of experienced players, started with a lot of hope and momentum, but no one quite knew how good this team could be.
Alabama more than exceeded all expectations.
The Crimson Tide is 16-1-1, ranked No. 1 in one major poll, No. 3 in another, and tops the nation in RPI.
Alabama completed its home schedule undefeated, is riding a 12-game winning streak (with a strong chance to get No. 13), and after shutting out the Florida Gators 2-0 on Sunday clinched the SEC regular season title for the first time in program history.
It took a long time, but Hart and his staff led Alabama from worst to first.
"Look at where we're at now, eight years later," the head coach said. "SEC regular season champs, and as of [now] No. 1 in the RPI ... To be No. 1 in the RPI and No. 1 in the SEC eight years later is a tremendous accomplishment."
Alabama was also able to win the regular season outright in dramatic fashion, against a Florida Gators program that the Crimson Tide hadn't beaten in a decade.
"Fantastic," Hart said about how it felt to snap that streak.
Florida wasn't the only program Alabama defeated for the first time. It also notched wins against South Carolina, Ole Miss and Arkansas, while achieving a number of other firsts as well. They include team records for consecutive wins (12 and counting), most wins against ranked opponents (five) and wins against top-10 opponents (three).
The Crimson Tide also posted individual records for assists (Felicia Knox, 15), plus season and career records for goalkeeping wins (McKinley Crone with 15 and 33, respectively).
Like any good coach, however, Hart gave all the credit to his players.
"They've been awesome this year," Hart said. "We through a lot at them from a scheduling standpoint. We tested them with Clemson, the Utah trip. Everything we threw at them, they responded and answered with flying colors."
About the conference-clinching victory itself, Hart smiled and said the team performed "just ok," and let out a chuckle. He also talked about how Florida's defense was "condensed and compact" compared to some of the other SEC teams Alabama's faced.
"They made it very difficult for us, but we got the job done," Hart said.
Florida was also a physical team. But unlike at Mississippi State last week, where the game was played at a slower pace and had showings of strength, the Gators' speed put a lot of pressure on Alabama to get to the ball, especially Kouri Peace, the forward who challenged the defense all night.
"We knew going into the game she had pace on her," Reyna Reyes said in a postgame interview. "But honestly, we play against many talented players all the time, and the only thing we can do is do what we do best: working together, pressing together, just giving our all and being gritty.
"Everybody in all, starting with the press in the forward and working back, everybody has to work, and that's what we do."
Offensively, Kat Rogers scored the first of two Alabama goals (Riley Tanner had the other), and she did it in the presence of another record: 1,882 fans, the most ever in attendance for a home Crimson Tide soccer game.
"It was awesome," Rogers said about scoring the goal. "You can't ask for much better than this, right?
Rogers also showed love to Reyes, who was one of eight seniors recognized after the game.
"You talk about people who've put stuff in the program," Rogers said referring to Reyes and the seniors. "We've been through highs and lows, we've been through hard times and good times. Today was a good day, today was a fun one."
It was a lot of emotions throughout the night, and both Rogers and Reyes smiled when asked about their plans to celebrate. But Reyes kept it short and sweet: "Tonight, then we focus on Auburn."
Hart had similar thoughts, knowing that this was a night to celebrate, but once tomorrow arrives the focus shifts to the regular-season finale as Alabama heads to Auburn on Thursday to take on the rival Tigers.
Then begins what Alabama hopes will be a long postseason, through both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Regardless of the outcome, though, this year's team will be known forever as the one that changed the program, completing the long climb from the base to the summit of success.
See Also:
Alabama Defeats Florida, Becomes SEC Regular Season Champions
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