By Martha Glen Sease

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Crimson Tide bookended the regular season with wins. Alabama
Women’s Soccer came out of Auburn, AL on Friday, Nov. 6 with a 1-0 win.

In winning the Iron Bowl of soccer, the Crimson Tide ends the altered regular season on a
record of 2-4-2. The Tide’s two victories were over a bitter in-state rival – Auburn University –
and the SEC East division champions – the University of Tennessee.

 

The Night

The 200 fans at the game made it evident that this was certainly a rivalry game.
Auburn had a large student section sitting in the grass just outside the stadium. There were
many cheers of “you can’t do that” and “War Eagle, hey!” throughout the game. However,
Tuscaloosa is only three hours northwest of Auburn, and the Tide had its own fan section
lobbying the referees for calls.

The Game

The Tide went up 1-0 in the 36 th minute. Felicia Knox, a freshman midfielder, sent a ball
rocketing towards the upper left corner of the net. Auburn goalkeeper, 17-year-old Maddie
Prohaska, was there but was unable to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

The main point of focus throughout the game was the battle occurring in the midfield. Both
Auburn and Alabama have strong freshmen presences in the midfield that analysts were eager
to see fight it out under the stadium lights. The two teams’ tactical differences allowed Auburn
to limit Alabama to shots from distance, but they were ultimately unable to shut the Crimson
Tide down completely.

The Tigers had chances of their own in the Tide’s defensive third; however, the Tide’s
goalkeeper, Mckinley Crone, had a strong game and was able to keep all Auburn balls away
from the back of the Tide’s net.

There were some lucky bounces for the Tide. Crone came out of goal to challenge Auburn’s
forwards a few times – leaving the goal wide open – but Auburn consistently sent the ball wide-
left of the net. This was the Crimson Tide’s first clean sheet of the season.

The Numbers

  • The Crimson Tide took seven shots, with two on goal.
  • The Auburn Tigers took 12 shots, with three on goal.
  • The Tigers earned seven corner kicks to the Tide’s two corners.
  • Alabama goalkeeper, Mckinley Crone, faced all 12 shots from the Tigers and made three
    saves.
  • This was a relatively clean rivalry, with only 18 fouls between the two teams.
  • Alabama was given 13 fouls and one yellow card, and Auburn was given five fouls.
  • Five players out of the 11 starters for the Crimson Tide saw all 90 minutes of the game.
  • Riley Mattingly led the Tide with three shots and one assist on the night.
  • Casey Wertz, Kat Rogers, Reyna Reyes, and Felicia Knox each had one shot apiece.

The Future

The Auburn Tigers came into this game hoping for a win in order to clench a double bye week in
the SEC Tournament. Falling to the Tide cost them this opportunity, although they are seeded
eighth heading into the tournament.

The Crimson Tide locked in the eleventh seed with its win over the Tigers. The Tide will face
Louisiana State University in the first match of the tournament. This match will take place on
Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. CST on SEC Network.

The tournament is single elimination, so the Crimson Tide must win against LSU in order to
move on to the next round on Sunday, Nov. 15 against Ole Miss.