What to watch for during Alabama soccer's College Cup semifinal vs. UCLA

In 40 years of NCAA women’s soccer, only 11 teams have won a national title. Three of them — North Carolina, Florida State and UCLA — are playing in this year’s College Cup.

Then there’s Alabama.

The Crimson Tide will make its College Cup debut tonight as it faces fellow No. 1 seed UCLA in a national semifinal at 7:30 p.m. CT inside WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

Alabama (23-2-1) is in the midst of its best season in program history. The Crimson Tide claimed its first SEC regular-season title and finished runner-up in the conference tournament. Before this season, the furthest Alabama had made it in the NCAA Tournament was last year’s second-round exit.

UCLA (20-2-1) is making its 12th NCAA semifinal appearance. The Bruins finished runner-up for both the Pac-12 regular-season and conference titles.

The winner of the matchup will face either No. 1 seed Florida State or No. 2 seed North Carolina in the national championship game on Monday at 5 p.m. CT.

Here's what to watch for in tonight’s College Cup semifinal.

Cinderella traded in her glass slipper for a soccer cleat. Alabama’s pedigree might not match the other teams in this year’s Final Four. But make no mistake, its players firmly believe they belong among the nation’s best.

The Crimson Tide has carried a bit of a chip on its shoulder during its rise to prominence this season. However, the underdog label looks a bit out of place next to a No. 1 seed in the bracket.

“Getting to the Final Four, it’s just kind of like you can’t really deny it anymore,” Alabama center back Brooke Steere said. “We’re here and we’ve gotten through A) the whole season and then the entire tournament now to get here. Saying we don’t belong and stuff, it just doesn’t work. We’ve put in the work and we’ve shown everyone that it’s us and we’re here.”

Alabama finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in RPI and No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Crimson Tide has won 19 of its 20 games with 13 of those wins coming by multiple goals.

“You look at it and these are the teams that have been here so many times,” Alabama midfielder Macy Clem said. “But looking at the whole season, we’ve been up there in the rankings with them all year long. Just because we’ve never been where we are today doesn’t mean that we’re any less than these other teams. We’ve done nothing but prove that we deserve to be here.”

Alabama advanced to the College Cup by pulling out a 3-2 overtime victory over Duke last week. The win was the Crimson Tide’s sixth over teams ranked in the top 25 of the RPI.

“I think the best lesson we got from that Duke game is it just reemphasized to us that we’re pretty damn good,” Alabama head coach Wes Hart said. “Duke was a very, very good team, obviously. And I thought for the majority of the game, we took it to them. The biggest thing we learned is we are a very good team.”

Tonight’s game will feature two of the nation’s best attacking sides as Alabama ranks second nationally with 2.92 goals per game while UCLA sits at seventh averaging 2.70. While both teams utilize a possession-based attack, Hart is hoping the Crimson Tide’s high-pressing approach on defense will create havoc for the Bruins up the pitch.

“My hope would be that our pressing turns them over and frustrates them and gives us momentum,” Hart said. “Hopefully with that comes territory. That’s an important thing for us. We’re hoping to press them and turn them over in their half of the field which is going to give us the ball that much closer to goal.”

Along with forcing mistakes, Alabama’s relentless approach wears down opponents late in games. The Crimson Tide scored all three of its goals against Duke after the first half, netting the eventual winner in the 98th minute in overtime.

“Eventually you will break teams down,” Clem said. “Especially these big teams that are so technical. They’re not used to people being on their backs 24/7. I generally think it’s our best quality if not one of our best.”

Another way Alabama wears down its opponents is by utilizing its super sub, Gianna Paul. The SEC Freshman of the Year is tied for third on the team with eight goals through 26 games despite typically starting off the bench.

Paul opened the scoring during last week’s win over Duke, collecting a rebound in the middle of the box before firing it into the top of the net in the 68th minute. Generally the speedy forward does her damage by getting in behind the defense as her fresh legs can prove deadly for already-tired defenders.

“When you watch her come on the field, it’s like this whole seriousness of the whole field calming down,” Steere said. “I think it was Duke, one of their center backs was like ‘OK, she’s on.’ You watch her go, and suddenly all the defenses start dropping back a little farther. It changes the whole style of play for both sides.”

Alabama right back Gessica Skorka says she’s happy to have Paul on her side, stating she doesn’t envy opposing fullbacks who have to corral her on the wings.

“I cannot imagine how they feel whenever she comes in,” Skorka said “You already have Riley [Mattingley Parker] and Ashlynn Serepca up top, and then Gianna comes in? No chance.”

Paul entered last week’s game against Duke for the first time at the 29-minute mark. While Hart said he doesn’t have a set time in place for when he plans to bring Paul into games, he generally likes to let the match settle down a bit before injecting his speed boost off the bench.

“I want us to wear the other team down a little bit and then bring Gianna in maybe at a lull or maybe when I think we need a little boost or something like that,” Hart said. “You’ve seen in a number of games this season, you put Gianna in, and all of a sudden she can make things happen in a hurry.”