Crimson Tide Top 5: Soccer

Throughout the month of June, Bama Central writers will pick the best five players in each Alabama sport, and for each position group in football

One of the tricky things about selecting the five best players for an Alabama Crimson Tide sport is that sometimes the team didn't always play a benchmark-type schedule. 

Soccer is a good example. 

The program was first created in 1986, but then wasn't recognized as a varsity sport from 1988-93. 

With the Southeastern Conference officially adding the sport, the team was revived in 1994, joining Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as the league's original five programs. 

Don Staley was hired away from Radford University in Virginia as head coach, and some of his players followed him to Tuscaloosa. 

Goaltender Any Pseja was among them. Her 301 saves are still second on the Crimson Tide's all-time list. Ashley Kirkland and Carrie Warner also landed First-Team All-SEC honors. 

But the league was very different at the time. 

Nowadays, a top player like Crimson Tide midfielder Reyna Reyes will also play internationally. She was called up to the senior Mexican Women’s National Team this spring.

5] Libby Probst 

Alabama's all-team leader in goals (33), points (85), and shots on goal (94) simply has too many Crimson Tide records not to be on this list. 

Her single-season marks from 2005 include points (37), points per game (2.06), goals (15), and goals per game (0.83).  

Probst was also named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women's soccer. 

4] Rachel Brown 

Brown might be the best women's athlete that a lot of younger Crimson Tide fans have never heard of. Why? Because after two years at Alabama, during which she earned First-Team All-SEC honors, she transferred to Pitt. 

The English standout represented her home country numerous times, including at the 2005 European Championships and 2007 World Cup. She played for Great Britain during the 2012 London Olympic Games, which she called the pinnacle of her career.

Her 13 wins in 1998 still stand as a school record, along with her 6.8 career saves per game. 

3] Justine Bernier

She's the only Crimson Tide player in program history to earn All-SEC honors all four seasons. The goaltender finished her career with 453 saves, which are not only a school record but 152 more than second place (Pseja). 

Bernier also has the record for career shutouts (21, three players are tied for second with 12), and single-season saves (145, 2007). 

She's second all-time in wins with 29.

2] Merel Van Dongen

During Van Dongen's two-plus years at Alabama she managed to become the Crimson Tide's single-season assists leader with 10 in 2014. She also set assists per game records for season (0.53) and career (0.30), which still stand.

Van Dongen also converted four penalty kicks, which ranks fourth on Crimson Tide all-time list. She was also voted the SEC Freshman of the Year during her first season, and a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American after her last.

She's played professionally since then, and for the Dutch National Team. She's made two Women's World Cup appearances with the Netherlands and is slated to play in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. 

1] Celia Jimenez Delgado

After transferring to the Capstone for her junior season in 2015, Jimenez Delgado led the team in five categories: points (10), goals (four), game-winning goals (two), shots (55) and shots on goal (18). She medically redshirted in 2016, and returned to help lead Alabama to its third NCAA Tournament in program history.

On Jan. 18, 2018, Celia Jimenez Delgado became the first player in program history to be drafted to the National Women’s Soccer League as the Spanish native was selected by Seattle Reign FC in the fourth round. She joined the team after completing her degree in aerospace engineering.

Jimenez Delgado has represented Spain in numerous international competitions including the Women's World Cup and 2017 UEFA Women’s EURO. Prior to her time with the senior national team, Jimenez Delgado represented the Spain U19s and U17s, including winning the 2011 UEFA U17 Championships in Switzerland.

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The Crimson Tide Top 5 will appear every day during the month of June on BamaCentral.

Crimson Tide Top 5: Introduction

Linebackers

Softball

Tight Ends

Women's Basketball

Specialists

Women's Golf

Offensive Line

Men's Golf

Quarterbacks

Baseball

Defensive Linemen

Women's Tennis

Men's Swimming

Wide Receivers

Women's Swimming

Nick Saban Assistant Coaches

Running Backs

Women's Track and Field, Cross Country

Men's Tennis

Coaches