TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The “Iron Bowl of Soccer” trophy will remain in Tuscaloosa for another year, after the Crimson Tide took down Auburn in a thriller thanks to a late go-ahead goal from star midfielder Felicia Knox.

Alabama got off to a quick start on Thursday night, with Nadia Ramadan scoring on an impressive shot from the edge of the box. The goal marked Ramadan’s second straight match with a score, and was her third goal of the season.

After a long 30 minutes, Auburn was able to tie it up right before the half with a goal from Dylan Driver. The goal came after some miscommunication in the Crimson Tide backline led to a deflection setting up an easy Auburn score.

The second half began as a struggle for the Tide, as they continued to pour shots on goal but were unable to find the net. Tiger goalkeeper, Maddie Prohaska, kept Auburn in the game with eight crucial saves.

The Tide was able to break the stalemate and score in the 86th minute, when Knox placed a beautiful shot in the bottom right corner of the net. The Knox score came off an assist from Bella Scaturro Bright and was Knox’s third goal of the season.

Knox had a feeling tonight would be her night to score, saying she told herself that she “needed to get a shot off,” prior to the match on Thursday night.

“I’ve been struggling,” Knox said, “…trying to do stuff that’s hard around the 18, when I could just rip a shot.”

The confidence was visible all match from Knox, as she stuck to her word, ripping off three shots and tying her season high of two shots on goal in the Crimson Tide’s win Thursday night.

Dylan Pixton got the starting nod at goalkeeper Thursday for Alabama, tallying two saves. Pixton has given up just three goals in seven starts, and holds an undefeated record of 5-0-2 in matches she starts.

Coach Wes Hart was very pleased with his team following the win stating, “Anytime you win a game, especially a tough conference game against a rival, I gotta believe they’re gonna be feeling good. In athletics, confidence is so darn important. Great way to finish this game.”

The win propels the Tide to a record of 8-2-4 on the season, with a 2-2-1 record in SEC play.

Alabama will be back in action on Sunday, when they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M.

 

Caden Johnson serves as WVUA-FM’s senior soccer writer. You can follow him on X @CadenLJohnson.