Hogs battle 'Bama to 0-0 tie
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Arkansas and Alabama battled for 110 minutes on Sunday before settling for a 0-0 double-overtime Southeastern Conference soccer tie on Sunday.
Arkansas is 6-3-3 overall and 0-3-1 in the SEC while Alabama is 5-4-1 and 1-1-1.
In a game played in cool, windy and rainy conditions, the Razorbacks halted a three-game losing streak this season and a two-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.
The SEC tie is the first for Arkansas since 2007 when the Razorbacks battled No. 6 Tennessee to a 1-1 standoff in Fayetteville. The scoreless tie is the first since a 0-0 deadlock with Auburn in 2006. The SEC tie on the road is the first since 2004 when Arkansas and Georgia finished 0-0 in Athens.
“Today our effort was a little disappointing,” head coach Erin Aubry said. “We had to sub quite a bit. The individual effort was not there, for the most part. We’re fighting a little immaturity as a team. Our mentality is not truly a team effort or one of team unity. We have to work on that and fight through moments when we’re faced with adversity. That’s when courage comes out.”
Although not pleased with the overall performance, Aubry singled out a trio of Razorbacks who did show courage.
“(Keeper) Britni Williams was able to secure us a shutout,” she said. “Ally Atkins was unbelievable and Allie Chandler was as well.”
Williams had seven saves and has 25 over the last three games. Chandler had game highs of eight shot attempts with five on goal. Chandler and Atkins each played 91 minutes.
Fitting of a double-overtime tie, each team took 16 shots, and Alabama had eight corner kicks and Arkansas seven. Arkansas had 10 shots on goal and Alabama seven.
Alabama had a 5-4 shot advantage in the first half and a 10-7 advantage in the second half, but Arkansas was more aggressive in the extra periods. The Razorbacks had a 2-0 advantage in the first overtime and a 3-1 lead in the second extra period.
Both teams had decent opportunities to score, but a wet field and the wind contributed to the difficulty, but Aubry said that played to Arkansas’ advantage.
“I think the weather benefitted us,” she said. “Last Sunday (a 3-0 loss at home to No. 3 Georgia), we had difficulty because it was hot. We weren’t tough enough for that. I think the rain helped us today. Alabama plays great soccer on the ground and they possess the ball very well, so the weather made them a little sloppy.”
Arkansas is back on the road for two more games this week. The Razorbacks play at Vanderbilt on Friday at 7 p.m. and at Kentucky on Sunday at noon.
Download: ark, ala.pdf
