Alabama soccer advances to College Cup, beats Duke in overtime
In front of a sold-out crowd of 2,000 or more fans, Alabama soccer booked its first trip to the College Cup as the Crimson Tide defeated Duke 3-2 in overtime Friday night at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
No. 1-seed Alabama (23-2-1) took a 2-0 lead in the second half but watched No. 2 seed Duke (15-5-3) tie it to force overtime. The Crimson Tide will play in the national final four next weekend.
Here are three things we learned.
Creating holes in Duke’s defense
The Blue Devils have been tough on defense. Through three rounds, Duke only allowed an average of six shots per game and 2.5 shots on goal. However, Alabama’s pressing attack created several scoring opportunities early. In just one half of action, the Crimson Tide recorded nine shots, with four of those on goal.
In total, Alabama recorded 25 shots, with 12 on goal.
Making strides at the NCAA tournament
Before the 2022 edition, the Crimson Tide had a dreadful 1-4 record at the NCAA tournament. Alabama failed to make it out of the first round in 1998, 2011 and 2017. Alabama broke the first-round curse last season with a 1-0 win over Clemson. This year, the Crimson Tide has brought its record to 4-4 with three straight wins.
The Crimson Tide has also knocked off two seeded teams en route to the College Cup.
New stars stepping up
Two of the top scorers in the nation − Duke forward Michelle Cooper and Alabama forward Riley Mattingly Parker − were featured in Friday’s match. However, the defenses managed to contain Parker and Cooper for much of the night.
But the Crimson Tide has scoring depth down the chart, and it showed. Freshman upstart Gianna Paul cracked the code first, then Ashlynn Serepca scored right after Paul.
Alabama will face the winner of No. 3 seed Virginia and No. 1 UCLA in the semifinals on Dec. 2 in Cary, North Carolina.
CHANGING THE CULTURE: How Riley Mattingly Parker helped change the culture of Alabama soccer and make it a contender
CREATING A ROSTER: How Alabama soccer coach Wes Hart built a roster for a team that soared to No. 1 ranking
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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama soccer advances to College Cup final four with OT win vs Duke
