Soccer Closes Out Regular Season with Rival Auburn
10/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 27, 2011
| Game #19 | Alabama (8-7-3, 3-5-2 SEC ) vs. Auburn (11-5-2, 5-4-1 SEC) | |
| Date | Friday, Oct. 28 | 7 p.m. CT |
| Location | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Alabama Soccer Stadium (1,500) |
| Tickets | Free Admission |
| Television | TideTV |
| Radio | WVUA-90.7 FM | Listen Live |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Promotions | "Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger" |
| Game Notes | Alabama Notes  | Opponent Notes |
| All-Time Series | Auburn Leads 11-6-2 | 4-4-1 in Tuscaloosa |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team (8-7-3 overall, 3-5-2 SEC) will finish up the regular season portion of its schedule this Friday night, in soccer's version of the Iron Bowl, against the Auburn Tigers (11-5-2 overall, 5-4-1 SEC). Kickoff is slated for Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. Fans are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and the match will also mark the Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger promotion where fans can donate canned goods at the stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
The Tide had a huge weekend to help its chances of going to the Southeastern Conference tournament. Going against two teams with a combined 25 wins on the season, Alabama was able to come away with four points. On Friday night, UA faced off against No. 24 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa. Freshman forward Pia Rijsdijk scored her fourth goal of the season in the 14th minute and the Tide held off the Lady Vols in one of their best performances en route to a 1-0 win. It was Alabama's first victory over Tennessee since 1998 and the first time the Tide had ever defeated two ranked teams in one season (at No. 22 San Diego St., Sept. 4). On Sunday, Alabama traveled to Athens, Ga., to face off against the Bulldogs in a televised match. The game saw the Tide fall behind twice on Georgia penalty kicks, but each time UA found a way to even the match. Kaitlyn Smith scored her second goal of the season to even the match at one on a header off a corner kick and after another Georgia penalty kick to take the lead, Theresa Diederich scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season to even the score at two on a penalty kick.
WHO TO WATCH
Alabama freshman forward Laura Lee Smith returned to action after missing nine matches due to injury. When Smith went down, she was leading the team with seven points on three goals and an assist in seven matches. She now returns to a lineup that features four other underclassmen that are atop the team standings in scoring. Smith played 37 minutes in her return against Tennessee and then logged 56 minutes on the road at Georgia.
SCOUTING AUBURN
The Tigers enter Friday's match with an 11-5-2 record overall and a 5-4-1 mark in SEC play. Auburn also went up against Tennessee and Georgia this past weekend. On Thursday night, Auburn played Georgia to a scoreless draw. The tie clinched a SEC Tournament berth for the Tigers. On Sunday afternoon, Auburn traveled to Knoxville for a match against Tennessee, falling 2-0, as the Lady Vols jumped them in the SEC standings. The Tigers gave up a third minute goal to fall behind, then saw UT add another shortly after halftime for the final deficit. Senior midfielder Katy Frierson leads the Tigers with 21 points, behind five goals and a team-leading 11 assists. Junior forward Ana Cate leads Auburn with eight goals, but will miss the match due to a red card against Tennessee. Overall, the Tigers have scored 38 goals on the season. In goal, the AU is led by junior Amy Howard, who has led the team to four wins after coming back from an ACL injury. She has three shutouts on the year to go along with a 1.43 goals against average. The 2010 Auburn Tigers went 11-8-2 overall and 5-4-2 in the SEC, earning an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the first round to South Florida, 3-1. Karen Hoppa is in her 13th season as Auburn's coach, posting a 147-98-23 record on the Plains. She has led them to 11-straight SEC tournaments as well as to the NCAA tournament in nine out of the past 11 seasons.
SERIES HISTORY
Auburn leads the overall series 11-6-2 and has the edge in the series as of late. The Tide is in search of its first win over the Tigers since 2005. Last season, the Tide scored in the 12th minute and led the entire game, only to have Auburn's Julie King score off of a header with 17 seconds remaining to send the match to overtime. Auburn's where Ana Cate scored less than four minutes into overtime to give Karen Hoppa her 200th overall victory and made Auburn the outright SEC West champs. The win also spoiled a berth for the Tide to Orange Beach.
OPENING THE WEEK STRONG
Alabama has been a tough team to play in the opening match of each week. The Crimson Tide sports a 5-3-1 overall record in games played to open the week, with four of the wins coming by the way of shutout. UA has outscored its opponents 17-10 in those matches, scoring nearly two goals per outing. In fact, 17 of the 26 total goals this season have been scored in the opening match of the week. Freshman Pia Rijsdijk has tallied 10 of her 12 points in those matches while redshirt freshman Theresa Diederich has tallied four of her six goals over that span. Senior goalkeeper Justine Bernier has recorded four of her six shutouts and sports a 1.03 goals against average in those matches as well.
RIJSDIJK GARNERS WEEKLY HONORS
Alabama freshman forward Pia Rijsdijk was recognized for her stellar play last week in which she helped lead the Tide to four points, with a win over Tennessee (Oct. 20, 1-0) and a tie at Georgia (Oct. 23, 2-2). Rijsdijk has been the catalyst for the Tide's push for Orange Beach. The newcomer from Netherlands propelled Alabama to its first victory over Tennessee since 1998 on the strength of the game-winner in the 14th minute. The win also marked the first time in school history that the Tide had beaten two ranked teams in the same season (1-0 vs. No. 22 San Diego State, Sept. 4). Rijsdijk has gotten comfortable with her transition in the last month of the season as the freshman has scored all four of her goals and handed out three of her four assists since Sept. 18. Her four helpers are tied for the team lead and her 12 points rank second.
FIRST YEAR SCORERS
This season, the Tide is seeing a youth movement take over and lead the team in scoring. The top five scorers on the team have been on campus for two seasons or less. Redshirt freshman Theresa Diederich leads the team with six goals overall and 13 points, while true freshman Pia Rijsdijk has scored four goals to go along with four helpers, to give her 12 points. Sophomores Kendall Khanna and Molly Atherton both have three goals on the year. True freshman Laura Lee Smith led the team in scoring for the first month of the season with three goals before missing action with an injury, but she is still fifth in scoring with seven points.
ONE GOAL OR LESS
The Alabama starting defense that features five upperclassmen, including four seniors has been the core of the success in 2011. The Crimson Tide has allowed one goal or less in 10 of the 18 matches this season, including six shutouts. Alabama has had two different streaks of allowing one goal or less in four straight matches. The Tide went 6-2-0 over that span. The last shutout for the Tide came against Tennessee (Oct. 20). It was the 20th clean sheet for Justine Bernier for her career.
TOUGH SLATE
Alabama head coach Todd Bramble put together a tough schedule in 2011. The Tide has eight teams on its schedule that are in the top 50 in the RPI. Also Alabama has played five teams that were ranked in the regular season. The Tide earned its first win over a ranked opponent since 1999 and after the win against No. 24 Tennessee, defeated two ranked opponents in the same season for the first time in school history. The last time the Tide defeated a ranked opponent before the two this season was in the opening match of the 1999 season, when the Tide downed No. 19 Vanderbilt, 2-1, in overtime on Aug. 27 in Tuscaloosa.
AROUND THE SEC
Freshman forward Pia Rijsdijk ranks fifth in the conference with 3.72 shots per game and also checks in sixth overall with 67 shots on the season. Senior goalkeeper Justine Bernier ranks third in the conference in saves (87), saves per game (5.44), shutouts (6) and shutouts per game (0.38). Bernier ranks fourth in the league with an .806 save percentage.
RECORD WATCH
Alabama goalkeeper Justine Bernier has already etched her name in the record books in numerous categories and is looking for more in her final season at the Capstone. Bernier earned her 27th career victory (Oct. 20, Tennessee) moving her closer to Tide great Amy Pseja, who holds the record with 30 career wins. Bernier has extended her career records in saves (425) and shutouts (20).
NEXT TIME OUT
If Alabama is able to extend its season it will head to Orange Beach to participate in the SEC Tournament. UA would be the eighth seed thus playing the number one seed in match three of the tournament. The match is slated to kickoff on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. CT. The tournament will be played at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
