TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Ole Miss Rebels came into Tuscaloosa and started hot, scoring a goal to take the lead in the 11th minute. Alabama looked all out of sorts in the early first half, with bad passes in the midfield and miscommunication on defense.
However, the Tide were able to respond with Felicia Knox scoring directly off a corner kick in what could be a strong candidate for the team’s goal of the year. Corner kicks continue to be absolutely crucial to the Tide’s offense, as they scored off of three tonight. Lots of credit for the Tide’s corner kick success can be given to the star midfielder Felicia Knox.
“We practice them (corner kicks) a lot, and people know when to be in the right place at the right time. They’re just bound to go in”, Knox said. Knox humbly thanked coach Wes Hart for having confidence in her to place the ball wherever she wants on her corners.
Knox continued to showcase her stellar soccer IQ and unselfishness on Thursday night with a strong one goal and two assist performance.
Once Alabama got rolling tonight, they couldn’t be stopped, tacking on three more consecutive goals to lead them to an impressive resume building 4-1 win over the 20th ranked Rebels.
The turnaround can largely be credited to the team’s rise of intensity and physicality throughout the game. The Tide had several successful slide tackles and won countless contested balls in the air. Coach Hart loved the intensity level he saw from his team tonight, even referring to his squad as “a blue collar team”.
“It’s kind of been a process getting there”, Hart added. “We’ve had the technical side down the last few years but we weren’t good enough in the transitional area, defensively and winning balls in the air”.
The word “process” can greatly describe Hart’s time at Alabama, as he has helped form Alabama into a premier women’s soccer program with no signs of going anywhere.
The Tide will be back in action on Sunday, when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU.
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