Alabama football opens season No.2 in AP poll

Saturday morning provided one more signal that the college football season is close to beginning when the Associated Press’s  preseason Top 25 poll was released. The Alabama Crimson Tide will open the season as the No. 2 team in the nation.

The Crimson Tide is second in the nation in the AP poll behind Southern California. The Trojans received 25 first-place votes and 1,445 points to top the list.

Alabama received 17 first-place votes, the second most in the nation, and 1,411 points. LSU will open its season as the third-ranked team in the land after receiving 16 first-place votes and tallying 1,402 points.

Michigan, the team the Crimson Tide will face in Dallas to open the 2012 season on September 1, will being the season ranked eighth overall. The Wolverines and Oklahoma, who is fourth in the poll, were the only other two teams to receive first-place votes.

The Southeastern Conference landed five teams in the top 10, the most of any other conference. The Georgia Bulldogs, who finished last season ranked 19th in the AP poll, open the season as the sixth-ranked team in the land. South Carolina and Arkansas, ranked nine and ten respectively, both finished last season in the top 10 and are looking to continue building on their past success.

The entire poll can be found here.

Alabama soccer opens season with 1-0 victory

The Alabama Crimson Tide women’s soccer team opened the University’s 2012-2013 athletic season with a 1-0 victory over Kennesaw State on Friday evening.

The Tide took a 0-0 game into halftime, but controlled the game from the beginning and outshot the Owls 19-4. The Tide opened its 2012 scoring account in the 57th minute when freshman forward Katie Bourgeois scored.

Sophomore forward Pia Rijsdijk led the Crimson Tide with four shots. Goalscorer Katie Bourgeois recorded three shots, fellow freshman Abby Lutzenkirchen had three shots and freshman Merel Van Dongen put two shots on frame.

Freshman goalkeeper Shelby Church played the entire game and was only forced to make one save.

The Crimson Tide is trying to build on its success from last season when it reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. The Tide fell in the first round in a double-overtime loss to Miami.

Alabama’s next game will be at home, Friday, August 24 at the Alabama Soccer Complex. The Tide will take on the Samford Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Last season, the Tide knocked off the Bulldogs in Birmingham, 2-1.