Tuscaloosa, Alabama — alabama crimson tide Football has been this season, but it is still in uncharted waters.
On Friday, the Southeastern Conference regular season champions will play the first Elite Eight match in program history after winning the first Sweet 16 match in program history. Both events saw Alabama as the No. 1 seed in his NCAA Tournament, the first time in program history.
Forward Riley Mattingly Parker (17 goals), midfielder Felicia Knox (20 assists) and goaltender McKinley Krone (10 shutouts) are already on Alabama’s football record . The Crimson Tide nearly swept his SEC individual awards, and Weshart was also named the league’s Coach of the Year.
Conquering the SEC was one thing. The challenge here turns to doing essentially the same thing for the Athletic Coast Conference, the premier league with a long history in the sport.
There are still five teams left in the tournament, all of whom are competing for a spot in the College Cup.
Moreover, all of them have been through the postseason multiple times and are firmly established in the elite.That includes Duke, the next team in the Alabama way, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
The Blue Devils, just below Alabama, come to Tuscaloosa as the No. 2 seed in the region with a 15-4-3 record. It’s also Duke’s third straight year in the Elite 8, and his sixth in the last eight years.
The remaining quarterfinals will take place on Saturday with Arkansas at Florida, North Carolina at Notre Dame and Virginia at UCLA.
It was in Florida State that Hart spent two seasons (2013–2014) as an assistant coach, helping lead the Seminoles to their first national championship season in 2014.
When asked if he thought about the possibility of facing Florida State in the College Cup, Hart replied, “A little.” We were focused on one game, we didn’t see any of Duke’s games until we won the last one, so all of our focus is on Duke and how to beat Duke. Once you get over Duke, you can shift your focus to that.”
Hart is looking forward to playing against a more aggressive program, unlike his previous opponents’ playstyles.
“They’re not going to just sit back and absorb the pressure,” he said. “They’re a team that comes out and plays.”
Duke has Michelle Cooper. The ACC Offensive Player of the Year tied Parker for 17 goals in the season, fifth in the nation.
She is the biggest scoring threat Alabama has faced in the tournament to date.
“Michelle Cooper is going to be a handful,” said defender Gessica Skolka. increase.”
If anything, Alabama may be lucky to have Duke as the ACC team they will be facing at this stage of the tournament. Notre Dame and Florida State are also number one seeds, while North Carolina is tied for the regular season title.
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This is no small feat for the Duke University program, which was a national runner-up in 2011 and 2015. Rather, it is a testament to how dominant her other ACC programs have been since women’s soccer became an official sport in Division I in 1982.
Women’s soccer goes through the ACC in the same way that college football goes through the SEC.ACC has missed just 1 of the last 40 College Cups one time, Including 16 consecutive appearances. The conference also marks his fourth straight appearance at the U.S. Championships with his two title wins from Florida State in 2018 and his 2021.
That’s a lot of records and achievements, but the point is, in addition to the test Alabama has to face here in this final game at home, the rest of the way they could only face an ACC team. is.
- Florida State University, the top seed in the overall tournament, made the Elite Eight for the fifth year in a row.
- The No. 1 seed, Notre Dame, have won 12 games in a row and haven’t given up a goal in the tournament.
- Second-seeded North Carolina is in its 16th appearance in the Elite Eight since 2001. The Tar Heels have also won 21 of her 27 national titles at ACC.
- Virginia, the No. 3 seed, is seeking its second College Cup appearance in three seasons.
It’s a tall order for Alabama to make the women’s soccer challenge, but Parker and the team have momentum.
Alabama beat Clemson 3-0 the last time they played against ACC opponents
The Crimson Tide won the last time they faced an ACC team in the NCAA Tournament (Clemson 1-0 in 2021).
The last time Alabama lost to an ACC team was when they lost 1-0 to Miami quick in season.
Do these two teams match Florida and North Carolina? No, it doesn’t wipe out last season’s 4-0 loss to the Seminoles.
But their recent success against arguably the best conference in women’s football, combined with the team’s performance at historic levels, means something. And if any team runs like that, it’s the 2022 edition of Alabama Soccer.
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How to Watch: Duke Women’s Soccer in Alabama
Tickets for Crimson Tide are available at SI Tickets here.
