South Carolina women's soccer falls to Alabama in opening round of SEC Tournament

The South Carolina women’s soccer team saw its season end in a way it certainly wouldn’t have wanted to.

After appearing as high as No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches’ national rankings earlier in the campaign, the Gamecocks went winless over their final three matches (and won just one of their last six). Their dip in form resulted in them dropping into seventh place in the SEC standings ahead of the conference tournament.

Postseason play, though gives South Carolina a blank slate to work with. What’s happened over the past three months no longer matters — every team’s record is 0-0-0 now. Straight-knockout tournaments make the formula even simpler: win and move on, or lose and go home.

The Gamecocks, unfortunately, saw trends from the regular season carry into its postseason debut. South Carolina (10-4-5) fell to No. 10 seed Alabama (11-7-1) in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, with late Crimson Tide goals serving as the difference in a 2-0 match.

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The early of the stages of the match proved to be a slow burn for both teams. South Carolina emerged on the front foot first, whipping in dangerous crosses and earning the initial corner kick of the match.

But as the first half went along, Alabama created the chances that came closest to resulting in a goal. Crimson Tide midfielder Melina Rebimbas clanged a shot off the crossbar in the 15th minute. Alabama’s offensive pressure forced the Gamecocks’ defensive players to commit fouls close to goal.

Yet the match remained relatively even through 45 minutes, despite the scrappiness that defined the opening period. The Crimson Tide headed into the halftime break with a 6-5 advantage in shots, but South Carolina held 3-1 leads in both shots on goal and corner kicks. Both teams combined to commit 16 fouls — nine on the Gamecocks, and seven on Alabama.

The start of the second half, though, was all Crimson Tide. Alabama midfielder Madeline Padelski had a wide-open opportunity to direct a shot towards the net in the 54th minute, but it headed straight into the arms of South Carolina goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis. Fewer than 60 seconds later, Rebimbas rang the crossbar with another rocket of a shot.

Momentum swung back in the direction of the Gamecocks between the 60th and 70th minutes. Katie Shea Collins — who leads South Carolina in goals, assists and shots this season — delivered two shots, one of which was saved by Crimson Tide goalkeeper Madi Munguia. The Gamecocks kept Alabama’s defense on its heels with more crosses and sustained possession in their offensive half of the field.

But it was Alabama that would eventually find the breakthrough that turned the match on its head.

The Crimson Tide took a throw-in behind the mid-field line that Gianna Paul corralled with a defender on her back. She delivered a pass to Rebimbas, who delivered a long ball in the direction of an onrushing Larkin Thomason. Thomason, the SEC Newcomer of the Year, chipped the ball over Tsaousis and into the back of the net to give Alabama the lead.

The Gamecocks spent the rest of the game searching for an equalizer, but the Crimson Tide defense refused to break. Both Autumn Cayelli and Micah Bryant sent convincing efforts in the direction of Alabama’s net, but Munguia made big saves to help her team keep the lead.

Little did she know that that lead would grow in the closing stages of the match. Alabama regained possession of the ball in the 89th minute and orchestrated a counterattack to the other end of the pitch. The ball made its way to Crimson Tide forward Gianna Paul, who fired a shot right at Tsaousis. It rebounded back to Paul, who made no mistake and dispatched the shot from close range to double Alabama’s lead and seal the result.

Up next

With the loss, South Carolina has been eliminated from SEC Tournament play. The Gamecocks will learn their NCAA Tournament fate during the event’s Selection Show, which will air on Monday, Nov. 10.

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