The University of Georgia soccer team fell to No. 5 Alabama, 2-1, Thursday evening in from of 1,345 spectators at the Turner Soccer Complex.
Alabama (11-1-1, 4-0-0 SEC) went on the board first with a goal midway through the first half. Tacking on a security goal to start the second gave the Tide a two-point advantage over Georgia (8-4-0, 2-2-0 SEC). The Bulldogs broke onto the board as a result of an own goal by Alabama late in the second half.
The Tide outshot the Bulldogs by a 19-7 margin. In the keeper’s box, sophomore Liz Beardsley posted three saves for the 90 minutes.
Alabama scored first with the only goal of the first half. Riley Mattingly Parker passed the ball to the top of the box to connect with Riley Turner, who sent the ball to the top right corner of the net to give the Tide a 1-0 lead.
“I thought we ended well,” Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine said following the match. “I didn’t think we showed up and competed in the first half enough. I thought Alabama did a fantastic job of making us uncomfortable and keeping us pinned in the first half. I thought we got through the half and did a little bit of a better job in the second half. But ultimately, we got moving through the half and finished the game very well. Even though we didn’t have the style that we were hoping for, we did what he had to do to make them uncomfortable, and I thought that gave us a chance to win the game.”
Kicking off the second half, a corner kick from Felicia Knox found the back of the net from a header by Ashlynn Serepca to put Alabama up by two goals. Georgia got its lone score of the night off an own goal from the Tide’s defense. A pass from Jada Gibson was deflected off the body of an Alabama defender and snuck past the Tide’s keeper.
Georgia will return to the field in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. to face Vanderbilt. The match will be streamed on SEC Network +.