Alabama soccer to open SEC Tournament play against Ole Miss

Austin Hannon, Staff Reporter

After an up-and-down season with success on the home field and problems on the road, the Alabama women’s soccer team (10-8-1, 5-4-1) heads to Orange Beach, Alabama, for the SEC Soccer Tournament.

Alabama will open the tournament as the No. 6 seed after their 1-0 win over Auburn in the regular season finale.

The Crimson Tide will open up tournament play against the No. 3 seed Ole Miss Rebels, who have stumbled into tournament play.

After winning six of their first seven conference games, the Rebels finished the season with a draw against Auburn and losses to Missouri and Mississippi State.

It is to be determined if the Crimson Tide can win a game away from Tuscaloosa after finishing 0-6-1 away from home. Alabama boasts a 10-2 record on their home turf.

One of the six road losses for the Crimson Tide came in Oxford, Mississippi, in September. Ole Miss won that contest 3-1. Many feel that Alabama is a better team now than it was in September.

Both teams had selections to the 2021 All-SEC teams.

Crimson Tide junior Reyna Reyes was named as a first team All-SEC defender on Sunday.

Ashley Orkus of Ole Miss was named SEC Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as first team All-SEC. Orkus played all 1,680 minutes for the Rebels this season, allowing just 24 goals in 18 matches. She had five shutouts.

Rebels midfielder Channing Foster was also named to the All-SEC first team, finishing ninth in the conference in both goals and points.

Ole Miss forward Haleigh Stackpole and midfielder Molly Martin were added to the second team. Stackpole was the assist leader in the SEC with 13, and Martin finished fourth in the conference with nine goals.

For a chance at the NCAA Tournament, Alabama will need to win a couple games in Orange Beach to feel good about their chances. Ole Miss, even after the rough three-game stretch, is still in position for a No. 1 seed as long as they don’t lose to the Crimson Tide.

The Rebels are currently ranked No. 16 and are 11th in rating percentage index. Alabama is 57th in RPI.

The match is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 2:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. The winner will play either the No. 2 seed Tennessee, or No. 10 seed Florida, who defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores on penalty kicks 5-4 to advance on Sunday.