They showed up early. Bleachers were overwhelmed 15 minutes before Alabama played for history.
Aisles were clogged at the Alabama Soccer Complex on Iron Bowl Eve in Tuscaloosa, largely because no one had seen anything like it before.
And the Crimson Tide delivered.
It just took a little longer than expected.
With just under 23 minutes to go, a goalless tie was broken, which suddenly became a penalty shootout. Alabama scored twice in five minutes before Duke stunned the crowd with two goals in just over three minutes to force overtime.
In the first of the two overtime periods, Reyna Reyes scored the goal that eventually took the Crimson Tide to back-to-back wins for a national title. Reyes’ goal came in the 98th minute as Alabama survived the final 12 minutes to keep their dream season alive.
Alabama (23-2-1) is now advancing to the College Cup, NCAA football’s Final Four. The national semifinals will be held next Friday in Cary, North Carolina, with the title game scheduled for December 5 at 5pm CT.
Friday’s victory continued the previously unthinkable for an Alabama program that had not won a single NCAA tournament game prior to last season. The fourth of this season came via a Duke program that was playing in its ninth NCAA quarterfinal in the past 12 years.
“For the last three days out of four, I knew it was coming,” said Alabama coach Wes Hart. “A lot of people have doubted us. A lot of people said, “This is Duke. This is the ACC. That’s about 20 youth national team players. How will Bama hang out with them? They have Michelle Cooper.’ But I’ve been close to this team every day and I know what they’re capable of. We are a good football team and we are also tough and brave.”
Hart, Alabama’s coach since 2015, said it wasn’t an overnight success. You worked towards this moment and yet it was difficult for him to describe his feelings in this monumental moment.
Reyes struggled to recall the moment her goal sent that team to Cary. She said she saw the cross coming into the box and hoped it would pop out towards her.
“And it did,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and I just went for it. At that moment I was just empty. But I just knew what I had to do.”
It was Gianna Paul who broke that goalless tie with the first goal that sparked the packed crowd. Ashlynn Serepca gave Alabama a two-goal lead with 18:49 left before Duke answered.
Michelle Cooper scored a breakaway at 14:29 on the ticking clock, then again at 11:09 to stun the home crowd. Alabama had controlled possession all night, but two breakaways ended the game that seemed in hand for Alabama.
The Crimson Tide passed Duke 26-12 and 12 on goal against the Blue Devils seven.
The same attacking style that got Alabama to this moment is exactly what will send them to the College Cup.
“I think it shows we’re bloody good,” Hart said. “Our press is pretty intense. Let’s be fair, Duke is a very, very good team. And I have to choose my words carefully, but I thought we looked a lot better. They couldn’t handle our press. They couldn’t handle the pressure we put on them. They gave away balls. They didn’t look like the same team I’ve seen on film over the past few weeks. It’s because of what we did to them.”
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.