Alabama soccer season ends in cloud of disappointment

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. | The loss to Auburn brought a bitter end to a season filled with disappointment and frustration, leaving the Alabama soccer team and head coach Todd Bramble wanting more.

The University of Alabama's soccer team played in its final game of the 2013 soccer season Thursday night. The Crimson Tide finished with a 4-7 overall record and a 6-12 SEC record. Pia Rijsdijk led the scoring with seven goals.

“I wish we could have had more offensive production out of some of our other players,” Bramble said. “For one reason or another we just couldn’t get the consistent play needed to be successful.”

Auburn beat Alabama in a 1-0 game in the rain Thursday, ending the Tide’s season with a 4-7 record in Southeastern Conference play and a 6-12 record overall.

Alabama was hit with an injury to a key player early in the season. Sophomore Merel Van Dongen was leading the team in goals scored when she suffered a season-ending leg injury while away training with the Netherlands Women’s National Team.

Junior Pia Rijsdijk took command as the new leading goal scorer and finished the season with seven goals. She was selected as an All-SEC performer for the third consecutive year on Nov. 4. Sophomore Abby Lutzenkirchen praised Rijsdijk’s performance from a teammate’s perspective.

“She’s so fun to watch play everyday,” Lutzenkirchen said. “[Rijsdijk] is a hard player to defend in practice, and she’s very deserving of the award she got.”

The team put on rollercoaster performances throughout the season, beginning with a 3-0 loss to Wake Forest. The home-opening 2-1 overtime victory over Georgia State was followed by a discouraging four-game losing streak, including a 6-0 loss at Memphis. Alabama rode a three-game winning streak during the middle of the season, but that came to an end when they played host to LSU on Oct. 6 -- which led to another four-game losing streak. Finally, the 1-0 loss to Auburn closed the vault on a season plagued by disappointing results.

Defensively, UA struggled to keep its opponents from blasting the ball into the net. The Crimson Tide gave up 39 goals in 18 games, and opponents were averaging 2.17 goals per game.

The Tide’s four seniors Molly Atherton, Sophie Campise, Shelby Church and Kendall Khanna are leaving the team, having played their final season of soccer at UA. Bramble said he was proud of the work each of them had put in during their time with the team.

“I’m really happy for the sacrifices they’ve made to change the culture here,” Bramble said. “The fruits of their labor will have an impact on the players that come play here in the future.”

Lutzenkirchen said the hard work and dedication she watched the departing seniors put forth makes her want to work even harder.

“They have all been great teammates, they’re a lot of fun in the locker room and at practices, and it’s been great having the opportunity to play with them,” Lutzenkirchen said.

Bramble said the play he was able to get out of the freshmen was a pleasant surprise to him this season. He said Auburn Mercer was one of the freshmen that made big contributions to the team, she played 90 minutes in several games this season, and she’s a player with a lot of upside to her game.

This season might not have lived up to the expectations of neither the players nor the coaching staff, but Bramble said the outcome of this season doesn’t have to dictate what happens next season.

“We’d like to get our program to a place where one injury won’t affect the whole portion of our team,” Bramble said. “We have to work our way up in the (SEC), constantly perform from half to half or game to game.”