No. 3/1 Alabama Soccer Clinches Western Division Title with 4-1 Win at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 3/1 Alabama soccer team (15-1-1, 8-0-0 SEC) cliched the SEC’s Western Division on Thursday with a 4-1 victory over Mississippi State (10-3-3, 4-3-1 SEC). The road win was the Tide’s 11^th straight, setting a program record for most consecutive victories in a season, while also topping the program mark for most wins in a single campaign with 15 on the year.  

All Smiles #RollTide pic.twitter.com/bXZngwtvpz

— Alabama Soccer (@AlabamaSoccer) October 21, 2022

From Head Coach Wes Hart 

“What a wonderful performance tonight against a very scrappy and physical Mississippi State team. It was important that we matched their intensity and physicality, but we did a poor job in the first half of playing our game. The biggest difference in the second half was that we connected passes and played with a lot more patience. Once we did that, the game opened up and got much easier for us. Winning the Western Division is an incredible accomplishment, but we are not satisfied. We know there is more in us. We have our sights set on bigger things.”

Gallery: (10-20-2022) 10-20-22 WSO vs Mississippi State

How It Happened 

• Gianna Paul opened up the scoring, netting a goal in the 10^th minute of the game
• Riley Mattingly Parker passed out to Felicia Knox to play into a sprinting Paul, who drove a ball into the goal from the top of the box
• Mississippi State evened the score with a long shot by Haley McWhirter, which found the back of the net in the 34^th minute after taking a deflection in the box
• Alabama scored its second goal in the 64^th minute as Parker dove to make contact with her head off a cross from Gessica Skorka
• An unmarked Ashlynn Serepca added the Tide’s third goal in the 75^th minute
• Parker sent a ball into the box for Serepca to send far corner into the back of the net
• Riley Tanner scored the final goal of the night with 19 seconds left on the clock, heading a ball into the goal from Paul

Game Notes 

• The Crimson Tide clinched the SEC West title for the first time since 1998 and the fourth time in program history
• Alabama also set the record for most wins in a season, topping the program’s 14-win season in 1997
• The Tide also set a program record for consecutive wins, recording its 11^th in a row
• Riley Mattingly Parker tallied her 12^th goal of the season in addition to her third and fourth assist to give her 28 points this…