Tide soccer upsets No. 5 Texas A&M

Alabama soccer pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history with its 1-0 win against No. 5 Texas A&M on Thursday at the Alabama Soccer Complex.

The win was the second win against a top-10 team in program history. The other win came against No. 6 Florida State last season.

“What a huge win,” coach Wes Hart said. “This was a must-win game for us. Our backs were against the wall, and we took care of business”

The lone goal of the game came in the 79th minute. Midfielder Taylor Morgan drove down to about the goal line. She pulled back and dumped the ball to Nealy Martin, who in stride, fired a shot to the top-right corner of the goal.

“Honestly kind of blacked out I guess,” Martin said. “I was running down the field, and I didn’t get it. I saw Taylor Morgan making a run across, and she got the ball. I was just like ‘I’m just going to keep running.’ She passed it back to me and I guess my immediate reaction was just shoot far post.

The goal was the second of the season and her career.

Keeper Alex Plavin finished with arguably her best game of the season. The sophomore had eight saves, which is second most in her career, and finished with her sixth shutout of the year.

“I think today I was just in the right place at the right time,” Plavin said. “I played off the adrenaline, the focus and the vibe of our team. I think that led to more confidence on my part, and I was able to come up with some good saves to help out.”

Even though the Aggies didn’t score, they dominated the shot count, putting up 21 shots but only eight were on goal.

“They dominated some of the stats, in terms of shots, but I thought some of their shots were ill advised,” Hart said.

Hart’s squad put up nine shots, while six were on goal.

The win puts Alabama into contention to make the SEC tournament, as it now has seven points in the conference. The Crimson Tide is on the road the rest of the season as it travels to Georgia on Sunday, then to Auburn on Thursday.