Nov. 16, 2007

Final Stats

Athens, Ala. - For the first time in a 10-game span, the Alabama A&M women's soccer team found itself overmatched by an opponent Friday night as Georgia rolled past the Bulldogs 6-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the UGA Soccer Stadium. Alabama A&M made its first trip to the NCAA postseason riding a nine-game unbeaten streak that included a sweep through the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. Clearly, the No. 13 Bulldogs from the SEC were the faster, more physical team. The night was not without highlights on part of the visitors, however.

After an opening 19 minutes that saw Georgia build a 3-0 lead, Alabama A&M settled better into the speed of the game and played head-to-head for the remainder of the half. Alberta Annan's goal on an assist from Belinda Kanda at 30:09 cut the lead to 3-1. The goal marked the first time in three conference appearances in the NCAA Tournament that a SWAC school has scored a goal. Both Mississippi Valley State and Grambling were shut out in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

"We knew coming in that with a quality team like Georgia, we would need to take advantage of every opportunity," A&M head coach Frank Davies said. "These teams are going to play at the highest level, and I was most impressed with the pace of play that Georgia showed."

Georgia's All-America Carrie Patterson dominated the early-going scoring twice to help build the lead for the hosts. She opened the scoring at 8:33 on a point blank cross in front of A&M goalkeeper Ebonie Johnson. Johnson's misplay on a UGA corner was credited as an own goal, giving Georgia a 2-0 lead 12 minutes into the game. Patterson scored again at 18:57.

From that point, A&M held its own in the first half. Each team totaled seven shots in the first half. Davies said his team's nerves had a lot to do with the early lead built by Georgia.

"I saw a lot of nervousness out there, but we were able to get the ball on the ground and control it late in the first half," Davies said.

Georgia wore down A&M with its depth in the second half, adding three goals to make the final 6-1.

The loss completes Alabama A&M's season with a final record of 10-7-3. Georgia (18-3-2) advances to face Duke in the regional final on Sunday. The Blue Devils advanced past South Carolina in penalty kicks 4-2 after the teams battled to a 1-1 tie in the first game Friday.

The game also marked the end of the careers of four A&M seniors: Annan, Ledile Matjekane, Rachel Sepeng, and Sydney Jakes.