Bama Soccer Defeats South Alabama
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
MOBILE, Alabama – University of Alabama soccer freshman Casey Wertz fired game game-winning goal to give the Alabama Crimson Tide a 2-1 victory over South Alabama on Friday night at The Cage in Mobile, Alabama. This was the first win on the road for Bama (4-1), while South Alabama (0-4) dropped its fourth consecutive contest.
Alabama head soccer coach Wes Hart said, "I thought it was a great win for us tonight. We knew going into South Alabama that it was going to be a tough game. We knew that they were a talented group, even though they have struggled with results this year. We knew they had a ton of talent on their team and a ton of returning players that have had a ton of success over the past few years who have won a lot of games, and have gone to the NCAA Tournament.
"We knew this was going to be a difficult game. We didn't help our cause by giving away the early penalty kick, but credit to the group for battling back and finding a way to get back in the game. South Alabama was a hard team to play against. It shows that our team has matured a lot and they have taken another step forward in being able to go to South Alabama and finding a way to win."
The Jaguars opened the scoring, holding a brief lead, but Celia Jimenez Delgado was able to tie thing up for the Tide about 13 minutes later. The half ended deadlocked, but then Wertz was able to cash in for the game-winner later in the 71st minute of the contest.
Kat Stratton recorded a season-high eight saves in the contest, picking up six of those in the first half alone. Delgado and Wertz both had one shot, one goal and one SOG in the contest. Abbie Boswell took three shots and is credited with one assist on the night. Hailey Brohaugh is also credited with one assist.
The Jags just did lead the Tide in shots, 14-13, while Bama had seven corners to the Jaguars' five.
Alabama will face the Troy Trojans on Sunday at noon CT at The Cage in Mobile, Alabama.
| Game Stats | UA | USA |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 1 |
| Shots | 13 | 14 |
| Shots on Goal | 5 | 9 |
| Saves | 8 | 3 |
| Corners | 7 | 5 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Fouls | 9 | 14 |
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Crimson Tide Volleyball Picks Up Win
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
It was Alabama freshman Christine Jarman leading everyone with a season-best 17 kills on the night. She also produced 14 digs to give the young lady her first double-double. Sophomore Mahalia Swink was also on-point last night, scoring in double figures, producing a career-high 13 kills. Senior Leah Lawrence wasn't far behind Swink with 11 kills of her own. Defensively it was Quincey Gary with a career-best 31 digs, tying her for the sixth-most in program history. Haley McSparin also came through big for Bama with eight kills and seven blocks.
The Crimson Tide (3-1) out-blocked South Alabama (0-3) in the contest 13-4, while Bama held the Jags to a .141 hitting percentage. The Tide won the first two sets but then the Jags rallied to win the third, avoiding the sweep. The fourth set was close, but a late push gave the Tide a 25-21 set win to end the match at 3-1.
Alabama will close out its weekend at the Jaguar Invitational today with a pair of matches. The Tide faces Southern Miss (5-1) at 10 a.m. CT and McNeese State (2-2) at 4:30 p.m. CT.
| Game Stats | UA | USA |
|---|---|---|
| Kills | 56 | 48 |
| Errors | 22 | 26 |
| Hitting % | .209 | .141 |
| Points | 75.0 | 54.0 |
| Aces | 6 | 2 |
| Blocks | 13.0 | 4.0 |
| TA | 163 | 156 |
| Assists | 54 | 44 |
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Kiffin Still Full Of Himself
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I have to admit, I've pretty much liked Lane Kiffin, former University of Alabama offensive coordinator and current head coach at FAU. The man is an offensive genius, which Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban recognized, and the reason for which he was hired to do the job at The Capstone.
But sometimes Lane did some strange things. Yes, most believe he was too "pass happy," but Saban did very little to deter that. Sure, there were times he stepped in, but for the most part Saban was pleased with the way Kiffin handled the Alabama offense. But then there were the little comments, there was missing the "ride" on more than one occasion and other things.
So, now Kiffin has, in my opinion, done another one of those strange things. He should have kept his mouth shut concerning last season's Alabama-Clemson national championship game. See, Kiffin believes had he still been the OC at Bama, then the Tide would have won the game.
Now let's see. If WHICH Lane Kiffin had been the OC. I do believe we could have won if the pre-I-wanna-be-a-head-coach-again Lane Kiffin had been there. But the Kiffin in the playoff game against Washington leading up to the national championship game had been there...well, I don't know. It is all just speculation.
Let's face it, had Kiffin's head been in the last game he had coached for Saban and Tide then he WOULD have still been there for the title game. He was too "unfocused" to be an Alabama coach. Plus some "inside" issues were taking place that have only been "hinted of" and no one really will know. But Saban still believes Kiffin is a great offensive mind. As do I.
But Lane Kiffin needs to concentrate on Lane Kiffin and FAU. This is his last shot at being a head coach at a major university. He can't afford to make waves, rock the boat or cause any sort of ripple. Hopefully he learned enough from Saban to do that. So far, though, he still likes make a few ripples.
Now, according to The Washington Post, Kiffin believes that since the Alabama-Clemson game was so close, he could have made a difference. In speaking with the Post's Adam Kilgore, Kiffin said, "It was rough. It got really rough when you watched the game. At first, the idea of, 'Okay, do your job. Focus on this one.' But really when you watched it, and because they lost, and it was so close. If they lose by a lot, you don't feel like, 'Okay, would there have been a difference?' You lose by one play, one second, and it's natural to think, 'Okay, you could have made a difference.' If they won, it wouldn't have mattered. I would have just been happy for them. That was the hardest part, how it ended."
Kiffin said he meant no disrespect to Steve Sarkisian, the analyst-turned-OC and coached only the one game. He said that just having been with the team so long is one of the reasons he believed he could have helped Bama win. Sark had only joined the team that season.
So, yes and no. Yes the pre-head coach Kiffin might have made a difference, but the one that coached the Washington game may not have. Perhaps had Bo Scarbrough not gotten injured it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
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Odds Shark Now Says FSU Over Tide
Those looking to place bets on tonight's University of Alabama versus Florida State University matchup will find that Odds Shark has now gone with FSU +7.5. The conjecture is that fairly equal talent, but Bama holding the edge, will keep the game close. The dominance of the FSU defense, and the fact that the Tide had to replace so many stars from last season is the reason the betting site has gone with the Seminoles.
