University of Georgia Athletics
October 21, 2011 | Soccer
Oct. 21, 2011
Complete Game Notes 
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ATHENS, Ga. --- The Georgia soccer team returns home from a three-game road trip to host Alabama on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. at the UGA Soccer Stadium. Georgia has two regular-season meetings left, both at home, and is riding a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1 in that time).
Georgia enters the game at 12-4-1 (6-2-1), coming off a tie vs. Auburn on Thursday night. The Crimson Tide will head to Athens at 8-7-2 overall and 3-5-1 in the SEC, clinging to the eighth and final spot in the SEC Championships Nov. 2-6 in Orange Beach, Ala.
The game will include live video coverage on Georgiadogs.com while it will also be broadcast live on local radio 1340 WGAU, and will be the Bulldogs' third TV game of 2011 airing on CSS.
The game will be a "Pink Out" for the Bulldogs, as the squad will don pink jerseys to raise awareness of breast cancer. The first 500 fans will receive pink "Kick for a Cure" t-shirts while all fans are encouraged to wear pink and pack the stands. Additionally, a silent auction will take place after the game where fans can bid on Georgia's pink uniforms. All proceeds will go to the Athens Regional Medical Center's Breath Health Center.
"It's nice to be back home after a three-game road stretch," said head coach Steve Holeman. "The great thing about the way the SEC is shaking out this season is that every game matters and everybody's playing for something. Alabama is on a bit of a roll after beating a top-25 team in Tennessee, and they're going to come in with a lot of confidence. They're playing for a spot in the SEC Tournament so there's a lot on the line here for both of us. It will be a big challenge and another great SEC match."
LAST TIME OUT: Georgia closed its regular-season road slate with a 0-0 tie against No. 22 Auburn Thursday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex, extending its unbeaten streak to five games. The Bulldogs now stand at 12-4-1 (6-2-1), good for third place in the Southeastern Conference race with two to play.
Georgia and Auburn were even at 14 shots apiece through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer on the night. Alexa Newfield fired six of those, needing just five to tie her own school record of 87 set last season. Though the Bulldogs were kept off the board, the defense played one of its best games of the season in containing a dangerous Tiger front line, while keeper Ashley Baker made five saves in 110 minutes of action, recording her fifth clean sheet and fourth in SEC play.
LOOKING AT THE CRIMSON TIDE: Alabama coms in at 8-7-2 (3-5-1) coming off a huge 1-0 win over No. 24 Tennessee Thursday in Tuscaloosa. Freshman Pia Rijsdijk scored her fourth goal on the season on a near post blast in the 14th minute and the lead held as the Vols were unable to find the equalizer in the eventual upset - UA's first win over Tennessee since 1998.
Alabama is led by three players with double-digit points on the season, including Rijsdijk's 4-goal, 4-assist effort for a team-best 12. She is followed by Theresa Diederich with 5 goals and 1 assist for 11 points, while Kendall Khanna has 3 goals and 4 assists for 10 points. In goal, Justine Bernier has played the majority of the minutes, posting six shutouts while logging a save percentage better than 80 percent and making 80 saves - good for third in the SEC.
The Crimson Tide are coached by Todd Bramble in his fourth season.
SERIES HISTORY, GEORGIA VS. ALABAMA: Georgia is 11-3 all-time vs. Alabama, including a six-game winning streak dating back to 2004. Last season Georgia earned a 3-0 win on the road in Tuscaloosa. Alexa Newfield had two goals that day and Meghan Gibbons added a third. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 20 at the time.
THE ROAD TO ORANGE BEACH: The SEC released its first SEC Tournament projections earlier this week and updated it after Thursday night's action. If the season ended today, Georgia would be a No. 3 seed and can finish no worse than sixth, having already clinched one of the eight trips to the conference tournament. Georgia is currently in third in the league with 19 points, behind Florida and South Carolina who are tied for first with 21 apiece.
The Bulldogs have reached six straight and 13 total tournaments, advancing to the semifinals last season. Georgia is in search of its first tournament title.
NEWFIELD IN THE NCAA: Sophomore Alexa Newfield is stacking up well in the NCAA stats in 2011. Currently, the Bulldog forward is in the top-10 in three stat categories, including game-winners (T3rd-7), points (T8th-34), and goals (T9th-13). She is 11th in the nation in points per game (2.00), T17th in goals per game (0.76), T17th in assists (8), and T26th in assists per game (0.47).
She leads the conference in goals, goals per game, shots, shots per game, and game-winners.
THE NUMBERS GAME: Georgia has scored first in 10 of its 17 games this season ... 11 players have scored goals and 16 have at least one point ... Georgia has allowed fewer than two goals in 12 of the last 13 games ... in three games this season the Bulldogs and the opposition have scored goals less than a minute apart (vs. Villanova, 59 seconds; vs. UNCG, 17 seconds; vs. South Carolina, 21 seconds) ... the Bulldogs are 4-0-1 in overtime this season, with all four game-winners in those games either scored or assisted by Alexa Newfield ... Newfield has seven game-winning goals on the season, good for third place in Division I women's soccer ... Jenna Owens has assisted an Alexa Newfield goal four times this season, while Newfield has helped Owens once ... Newfield needs just five more shots to tie her own school record of 87 in a single season set last year ... her 21 career goals are now second all-time in Georgia history for scores in a freshman and sophomore season, behind only Carrie Patterson's 25 from 2005-06 ... Georgia has already surpassed its win total of 11 from last season with two regular-season games to go ... the Bulldogs are No. 32 in the latest RPI, which 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 ... Georgia is ranked No. 38 in the most recent Top Drawer Soccer field of 64 ranking.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Georgia has gotten goals from 11 different players through the first 17 games in what has shaped up to be a balanced offensive output so far in 2011. Paced by an SEC-best 13 goals for sophomore Alexa Newfield, four from Ashley Miller and three apiece for Meghan Gibbons and Madeline Barker, a total of 16 Georgia players have found the stat sheet for either goals or assists.
Balanced offense has been a trend in recent years, as last season 12 different players scored goals.
A MILESTONE IN 2011: The Georgia soccer team won its 200th all-time game on Oct. 7, 2011 vs. Mississippi State. Georgia entered the 2011 season with an all-time record of 191-117-27 and made sure to capture the milestone.
Playing its first season in 1995, Georgia Soccer earned its first win on Sept. 3, 1995, its 100th on Sept. 14, 2003, and No. 150 on Nov. 2, 2007.
In doing so, Georgia became just the fourth SEC program to win 200 games all-time. Florida, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky have already accomplished the feat. Additionally, it was the 10th Georgia team to win 200 games, the first since softball did so in 2002.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Bulldogs wrap up the regular-season schedule next Friday night, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. vs. Tennessee. The game will mark Senior Night for Georgia's four seniors. The finale will include live video coverage on Georgiadogs.com and will be broadcast on local radio 1340 WGAU.
