University of Georgia Athletics
October 21, 2009 | Soccer
The Bulldogs welcome the Crimson Tide with an all-time record of 9-3 in the series between the programs, and having won the last four meetings including last year’s 2-0 victory on Oct. 26, 2008. Following the rare Thursday night game, Georgia hits the road for Sunday’s 2 p.m. meeting with Auburn.
"We are anxious to play again after a fairly productive weekend,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “The team is really starting to mature and play at a high level down the stretch of the regular season. We need to be better this week in the final third and a little bit more composed in front of goal. The players put together two very good sessions and look forward to the opportunity to compete against Alabama on Thursday night. We can still do a number of great things this year and our next step in that direction begins tomorrow night."
“We're excited to play again after the game on Sunday,” said senior forward Carrie Patterson. “We know Alabama is capable, so we have to come out well and put away our chances. We left a lot of goals out there on Sunday so we're ready to play again.”
LAST TIME OUT: On Sunday against Florida, the Bulldogs dominated the second half of play, outshooting the Gators 13-5 in that frame, but never found the back of the net before allowing the eventual game-winner in the 85th minute. The game was televised for a live national audience on ESPNU and was played in front of a season-high 2,023 fans in Athens. Georgia held the overall shot advantage in the game, 21-11, with perhaps the most unusual stat of the day coming in the Bulldogs’ 12 corner kicks while Florida did not take one all afternoon. But the Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize on any of those set piece opportunities. But Friday night, Georgia came away with the biggest win in school history as they upset fifth-ranked South Carolina -- previously unbeaten -- 2-1. It was the highest-ranked opponent the Bulldogs have ever beaten. It was the first time this season USC gave up two goals in a game and the first time all season they trailed at any point in a contest. The No. 5 Gamecocks were Georgia’s highest-ranked opponent since they took on No. 3 Southern California and No. 3 North Carolina Sept. 12-19, 2008. South Carolina had been one of only three unbeaten teams remaining heading into the weekend. UGA is now 2-2 on the year against ranked teams. The Bulldogs have allowed one or fewer goals in 13 straight home games, and are now 6-2 this season in games decided by one goal.
BULLDOG MILESTONES: Two Georgia players reached milestones over the weekend. First, senior forward Carrie Patterson’s two goals against South Carolina gave her a total of nine multi-goal games for her career, a new Georgia record as she surpassed Mandy Aiken’s eight. Patterson is the all-time leading scorer in UGA history with 41 career goals and 104 career points, and is just one off of tying the assist record as well. On Sunday, senior goalkeeper Michelle Betos made three saves -- after stopping seven Friday night -- to move into 10th all-time in the SEC in saves with 294.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE: Alabama heads to Athens with a record of 6-7-1 (2-4-1) after a weekend split of its own. The Crimson Tide defeated Kentucky 2-0 on Friday night before falling 1-0 to Vanderbilt in overtime, allowing the winning goal in the 94th minute in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is led on the year by Victoria Frederick, who has four goals and two assists for 10 points. Kelsey King has three goals and two players have two through the first 14 games. In goal, Justine Bernier has seen time exclusively, notching 1,304 minutes and posting a 1.24 goals-against average, 82 saves, and four shutouts. The squad has struggled at times offensively this season, having been shutouts seven times and scoring just once goal on three other occasions.
POWELL MAKES RETURN: Sophomore defender Bailey Powell entered Sunday’s game in the second half and saw 33 minutes of action after sitting out since Sept. 11 with a hip injury. Powell, a force on the UGA back line, had started all six games before the injury in the Georgia State contest.
PRIMETIME PERFORMER: After her two-goal effort Friday night vs. South Carolina, senior forward Carrie Patterson was named a Primetime Performer of the Week by CollegeSoccer360.com, it was announced Oct. 20. Patterson is the Georgia soccer all-time leader in points and goals. Her hat trick in the season-opener vs. Kennesaw State led to her selection as the SEC Offensive Performer of the Week back on Aug. 26.
GEORGIA IN THE RPI: The Georgia soccer team jumped from No. 12 to No. 9 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report released Monday by the NCAA. The Bulldogs are the highest ranked SEC team. Stanford is No. 1 followed by North Carolina, Portland, Central Florida, Florida State, UCLA, Wake Forest, Boston College, Georgia and Notre Dame to round out the top-10. The Bulldogs have seven other wins against teams in the RPI top-100 including No. 66 Vanderbilt, No. 81 Arkansas, No. 87 Mississippi State, No. 88 Kentucky, and non-conference opponents No. 37 Minnesota, No. 50 Charlotte and No. 70 Northeastern. The SEC has five teams in the RPI top 21, and the Bulldogs’ only losses have come against No. 16 Florida, No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 21 LSU. The RPI is the most important criteria used by the NCAA to determine the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament that compares results and strength of schedule.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS: Georgia is led by senior forward Carrie Patterson, who has a team-best eight goals on the season after two last Friday, marking her ninth career multi-goal game (the most in program history). Patterson adds four assists for 20 points, while leading the team with four game-winners and going 3-for-3 on PKs this season. Jamie Pollock boasts 13 points (6g, 1a), while Ashley Miller has 11 (3g, 5a). Alex Hooker has four goals and one assist for nine points, while seven other Georgia players have scored at least once in what has been a balance season offensively for Georgia, which is outscoring its opponents by a 31-14 margin. Veteran goalkeeper Michelle Betos has logged just under 1,400 minutes this season, posting a 0.91 gaa and a .818 save percentage while stopping 63 shots in goal. Betos has six shutouts to her name. The Dogs average 1.94 goals per game, are leading opponents in corners, 102-40, and have nearly doubled opponents’ in the shot column (15.8-8.1).
SEC STANDINGS: The Bulldogs stand in third place in the SEC East with a record of 5-3-0 in league games, four points behind South Carolina and two behind Florida. Georgia is fourth overall in the league standings, also four points behind LSU in the West. The Bulldogs are four points up on fourth-place Tennessee in the East. UGA is now 85-67-11 all-time in SEC matches, including a 35-21-4 mark under head coach Patrick Baker since 2005. In 2008, the Bulldogs posted a 7-3-1 ledger in conference play on their way to a second-place finish in the SEC East.
NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Georgia’s shutouts vs. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt (Sept. 27-Oct. 4) marked the first time in program history the team has posted back-to-back-to-back shutouts in SEC contests. ... The 3-0 win over Vanderbilt on Oct. 4 clinched the Bulldogs’ fifth straight year with double-digit wins, matching the five consecutive seasons from 1995-99 with at least 10 victories. In the five years before head coach Patrick Baker arrived in 2005, the Bulldogs had double-digit wins in three seasons. ... Georgia is the only team in the SEC without playing an overtime game yet this season. ... The Bulldogs continue to lead the SEC in corner kicks, taking 102 ont he season (6.38 per game), seven ahead of second-place LSU.
BAKER NEARS RECORD: With a 12-3-1 record so far this season, UGA head coach Patrick Baker is now 63-33-6 in his fifth season at the helm. Bill Barker is the winningest coach in program history at 65-30-8 in five seasons from 1995-99, leaving Baker just two off the mark and three from setting the new school record.
ANOTHER TOP 10 PROGRAM FOR BAKER: Georgia head coach Patrick Baker spent six seasons as head coach at Florida State, where he turned around a struggling program and took the Seminoles to a top-10 national ranking and the program’s first appearance in the College Cup. He won 80 games at FSU, and has now turned around a struggling program in Athens since arriving in 2005. After three impressive wins over 2008 NCAA Tournament teams Minnesota, Mercer and Charlotte in which the Bulldogs outscored those three teams 6-2, Georgia achieved the program’s first ever top-10 ranking Sept. 15 and maintained that spot in the poll released Sept. 22 for the first ever back-to-back top-10 ranking.
SEC RECORDS WATCH: Carrie Patterson currently ranks first among active players in the SEC in points (104) and is just three away from moving into a tie for ninth all-time in that category in an always-competitive soccer conference. Her 41 career goals ranks first among active players as well and is just two off moving her into a 10th place tie all-time. With 22 career assists, Patterson is third among active players there. Keeper Michelle Betos, with a 1.00 goals-against average for her career, stands in fourth among active players in that category in the SEC. Tenth place is 0.91. Betos’ 294 career saves is second among active players and also good for 10th all-time in the conference, while her 24 shutouts ranks first among active players and sits her sixth all-time in the SEC in that category.
ON DECK: Georgia will play its final regular-season road game this Sunday, Oct. 25 at Auburn, slated for a 2 p.m. EST start. The Bulldogs then close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 30 at home vs. Tennessee at 7 p.m.
