Historic Season Ends For Alabama Soccer With 3-0 Loss To UCLA In NCAA Semifinals

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide saw its most historic season in school history come to an end Friday night in Cary, North Carolina in a 3-0 loss to No. 1 UCLA in the semifinal round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.

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UCLA got on the board first with 29:31 left in the first half — a score that proved to be the only for either team in the first stanza.

The Bruins then came out swinging in the second half, extending its lead to 3-0 with a pair of quick goals at the 51:34 and 53:30 marks. That would be all UCLA would need on the night, as the Bruins will now advance to the national title match with North Carolina, after the Tar Heels topped Florida State 3-2 earlier on Friday.

The Crimson Tide's unforgettable season, which included winning its first regular-season SEC Championship, ended at 23-3-1, with two of its three losses coming in the postseason.

Alabama finished undefeated in conference play during the regular season, before falling to South Carolina in the championship round of the SEC Women's Soccer Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. The Tide's only other loss came in a 1-0 decision against Miami in only the third match of the year.

The loss also marked only the third time this season the Tide has been kept off the scoreboard with a shutout, with only Miami in the regular season and South Carolina in the SEC Tournament title match accomplishing the feat before UCLA on Friday.

Despite the disappointing end to the 2022 run, the Crimson Tide logged wins against five ranked opponents during the regular season: No. 18 Clemson, No. 6 BYU, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 7 Arkansas.

Alabama also saw three of its stars named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America team: Reyna Reyes, Riley Mattingly Parker and Felicia Knox — marking just another first for the Crimson Tide.

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