{"id":139643,"date":"2022-11-26T05:58:01","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T05:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alabama-wins-overtime-thriller-to-make-history-first-college-cup\/"},"modified":"2022-11-26T05:58:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T05:58:01","slug":"alabama-wins-overtime-thriller-to-make-history-first-college-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alabama-wins-overtime-thriller-to-make-history-first-college-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama wins overtime thriller to make history, first College Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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They showed up early. Bleachers were overwhelmed 15 minutes before Alabama played for history.<\/p>\n

Aisles were choked at the Alabama Soccer Complex on Iron Bowl Eve in Tuscaloosa, mostly because nobody had seen this before.<\/p>\n

And the Crimson Tide delivered.<\/p>\n

It just took a little longer than expected.<\/p>\n

A scoreless tie was broken with just under 23 minutes to play in what suddenly became a shootout. Alabama scored twice in a five-minute span before Duke stunned the crowd with two goals in just over three minutes to force overtime.<\/p>\n

It was in the first of the two extra periods that Reyna Reyes scored the goal that eventually sent the Crimson Tide to within two wins of a national title. Reyes’s goal came in the 98th minute as Alabama survived the final 12 minutes to keep the dream season alive.<\/p>\n

Alabama (23-2-1) now advances to the College Cup, the final four of NCAA soccer. The national semifinals are next Friday in Cary, North Carolina with the title game set for 5 pm CT on Dec. 5.<\/p>\n

The Friday win continued the previously unthinkable for an Alabama program that hadn’t won a single NCAA tournament game before last season. The fourth of this season came over a Duke program that was playing in its ninth NCAA quarterfinal in the past 12 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last three of four days, I knew it was coming,\u201d Alabama coach Wes Hart said. \u201cA lot of people doubted us. A lot of people said ‘This is Duke. This is the ACC. This is 20-odd youth national team players. How is Bama going to hang with them? They have Michelle Cooper.’ But I’ve been around this team every single day and I know what they’re capable of doing. We’re a good soccer team and we’re also tough and gritty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart, Alabama’s coach since 2015, said this wasn’t some kind of overnight success. They’ve been building toward this moment and yet he had a hard time describing his emotions in this monumental moment.<\/p>\n

Reyes struggled to recall the moment her goal sent this team to Cary. She said she saw the cross come into the box and was hoping it would pop out in every direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it did,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like ‘Oh my gosh’ and I just went for it. In that moment, I just blanked. But I just knew what I had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Gianna Paul who broke that scoreless tie with the first goal that set off the overflow crowd. Ashlynn Serepca gave Alabama a two-goal lead with 18:49 left before Duke answered back.<\/p>\n

Michelle Cooper scored on a breakaway with 14:29 on the ticking clock, then again with 11:09 to stun the home crowd. Alabama had controlled possession all night but two breakaways tied the game that appeared to be in hand for Alabama.<\/p>\n

The Crimson Tide outshot Duke 26-12 with 12 on goal to the Blue Devils’ seven.<\/p>\n

The same attacking style that got Alabama to that moment is exactly what will send them to the College Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it shows we’re pretty damn good,\u201d Hart said. \u201cOur press is pretty intense. Let’s be fair, Duke is a very, very good team. And, I have to choose my words carefully, but I thought we looked a lot better. They could not handle our press. They could not handle the pressure that we put them under. They gave balls away. They did not look like the same team that I watched on movie from the last few weeks. That’s because of what we did to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter <\/i>@ByCasagrande<\/i><\/a> or ten <\/i>Facebook<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n