PENSACOLA, Fla. – A couple of goals from Riley Mattingly Parker propelled No. 1 Alabama (19-1-1) to a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Vanderbilt (11-4-4) on Thursday as the Crimson Tide advanced to its first SEC Championship appearance since the year 1995.
A foul inside the box sent Parker to the penalty spot with 40 seconds left to tie the game at 1-1. Parker made a short run to the puck and fired it into the back of the net to give the Tide a 2-1 win.
“Very proud of this team. What a great win. So many players stepped up tonight and made plays when we needed them. However, it has been like this all season. I know we get a lot of credit for our attacking football. Our style of play, our goals, our assists are certainly impressive, but I can’t say enough about our defence, toughness and courage. I don’t think people give us enough credit for that. We have shown the ability to come from behind and take teams down. I thought tonight was a perfect example of that. Vanderbilt is a very talented team and played us extremely tough, but I felt we wore them down and dominated the entire second half. It was a great performance. Very excited to play for our fourth trophy of the season on Sunday.”
How It Happened
- Vanderbilt scored first when Peyton Cutshall sent a header into the top right corner of the net
- Less than five minutes later, Riley Mattingly Parker found the Tide’s equalizer
- Felicia Knox Playing Riley Tanner through BACKGROUNDpassing the ball to Parker standing in front of the net for the header
- Alabama dominated possession in the second half, but was unable to put the ball in the back of the net
- With less than a minute to play, Gianna Paul removed inside the box
- Parker stepped up and scored to give the Tide the win
Game notes
- The Tide advanced to the finals for the second time in program history and the first time since 1995
- The win over Vanderbilt marked the first time UA has posted two wins in the SEC Tournament
- UA went 19 wins on the year and posted its 15th straight win
- Riley Mattingly Parker set the program record for game-winning goals in a single season, scoring sixth this season with 89.th-The penalty minute shot in Thursday’s game
- Parker now has 34 points this season after scoring her 13th and 14th goals against the Commodores.
- The win snapped a four-game hitting streak by Vanderbilt
Next
- Alabama will play the winner between second-seeded South Carolina and sixth-seeded Georgia
- The SEC Championship begins Sunday at 1:00 PM CT on the SEC Network
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaSoccer on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaSoccer on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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