No. 16 Soccer set for SEC opener at home against Alabama

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 16 Arkansas Soccer (6-1-1) will welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2-1) to Razorback Field on Sunday, Sept. 22, for the Razorbacks SEC opener. First kick in Fayetteville is slated for 2 p.m. CT.

Match 9 Info

Opponent: Alabama Crimson Tide

Date: Sunday, Sept. 22

First Kick: 2 p.m. CT

Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2m3Sg4B

Live Stream: https://es.pn/2kq1O9L

The Crimson Tide are coming off a 3-1 home win over North Texas in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 15.  In the lone common opponent, Alabama secured a 5-0 at Lamar in early September. The Hogs also easily took care of the Cardinals, blowing out LU, 7-0, on Sept. 5.

Bama comes to Fayetteville second in the conference in shots per game (8.50) and third in total points (49). Arkansas leads the SEC in both those categories.

Riley Mattingly (4) is leading a group of 10 Crimson Tide that have tallied a goal this season. The sophomore forward has notched a goal in both of Alabama’s last two games against the Mean Green and Jacksonville State.

Last Time Out

The Razorbacks notched two shutout upsets against then No. 22 Baylor and No. 1 North Carolina.

After a two-hour delay in Waco due to travel issues, Arkansas used goals from Stefani Doyle and Anna Podojil to break the Bears’ 15-match unbeaten streak at home.

A couple days later, the Razorbacks tallied the program’s first win over a top-ranked squad all time against the Tar Heels. The win last Sunday was the first time for an SEC school to beat the Tar Heels by two or more goals.

Last week’s wins over No. 22 Baylor and the top-ranked Tar Heels marked the first back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in school history.

Quick Kicks

>> Under Colby Hale, the Razorbacks are 4-2-1 against Alabama in his seven seasons. Arkansas is 9-13-3 against the Crimson Tide with a 5-6-1 record at home all-time.

>> The Razorbacks are 3-4 in SEC openers since 2012, including a 3-1 loss to Georgia last season.

>> Colby Hale is 35-35-7 in SEC play at the helm of Razorback Soccer.

>> Three Razorbacks were honored with weekly awards after the Hogs’ wins in week four. Haley VanFossen was awarded SEC Defensive Player of the Week, Bryana Hunter was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week and Anna Podojil was named USC Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

>> The Hogs entered the polls for the first time this season, coming in at No. 16 in the USC poll and No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.

>> Arkansas leads the Southeastern Conference in nine different categories, including goals (27), assists (33) and points (87) in 2019.

>> The Hogs are also in the top five in the nation in scoring offense (3.38), assists per game (4.13), SOG per game (9.88) and team goals against average (.271).

>> Through eight matches, Arkansas is outscoring opponents 27-2 and outshooting them 158-50.

>> The Razorback defense is allowing just one goal in regulation and only 18 shots have found their target.

>> TCU transfer Katie Lund has started every game for the Razorbacks in goal. She’s played in 709:58 of the possible 754:58 minutes and recorded five shutouts.