Men's soccer wins C-USA opener
Jonathan Deal, Assistant Sports Editor
Published On: 10/ 6/2008
The UAB men’s soccer team began conference play last week with games against Memphis and nationally ranked Tulsa. The Blazers dispatched Memphis 2-0 earlier in the week before falling to No. 15 Tulsa at West Campus Field Saturday night.
UAB (3-5-2, 1-1) concluded a tough nonconference schedule at the Charlotte Classic two weeks ago before traveling to Memphis for the C-USA opener. The Blazers had seen Memphis before in two previous tournaments, so the team knew what to expect from their opponent in the opener.
Despite seeing plenty of each other this season, the game marked the first time the teams have met for the C-USA opener in more than 30 games played between the two. The Blazers got off to fantastic start to match when sophomore midfielder Kevin Sawchak scored his first career goal, just four minutes into the contest.
After receiving a pass from Two-Boys Gumede, Sawchak hit a scorcher from 25 yards out that beat the Memphis keeper. UAB controlled the tempo for the remainder of the half, and took a one goal lead into the break.
The Blazers held off their opponents, and were able to put the game away when Curtis Ushendo headed home the game winner in the 71st minute.
Senior captain Carlo Schiavoni sent in a corner kick that found the head of Ushendo, who buried it in the back of the net. It was the sophomore defender’s first career goal.
“I thought we played very well,” said UAB Head Coach Mike Getman. “For the first time this season, we had all of our players available to us. You could tell the difference. I thought our defense did a great job, we played well for 90 minutes and scored on two nice goals. In the end, that was the difference.”
The Blazers returned to West Campus Field Saturday night to face 15th ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane. UAB got on the board first when Anthony King received a great pass from Gumede and fired a shot past the Tulsa keeper and into the upper left corner. It was King’s first goal of the season.
UAB’s lead did not stand long however, as the Golden Hurricane answered just over three minutes later when Joe Salem scored his first goal of the season. Salem, who finished the night with a goal and assist, evened the score when he converted a header off a corner kick, which beat UAB goalkeeper Wes Johnson to the lower right side of the net.
UAB was out shot in the match 16-to-7 and held on for the remainder of the match to send it into overtime. The game winner came when Salem crossed the ball into the box and found the head of Austin Neil. Neil then hammered home a header into the lower right corner to give his team the victory just 69 seconds into the opening overtime.
“I thought we played very well at both ends against a very good team,” Getman said. “I thought our guys did a good job of creating chances. We had several opportunities to regain the lead and just couldn’t finish. Anything can happen when you play overtime and unfortunately we didn’t get the breaks tonight. This was a tough loss in a well-played collegiate game.”
It was the Blazer’s fourth overtime match of the year and the first loss they have suffered during overtime. The loss also marks the fourth to a team ranked in the top 25, with one coming against a team ranked No. 2 in its region. Furthermore, all five have been one-goal losses.
UAB now steps out of Conference USA play to face cross-state foe Alabama A&M. The game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. at West Campus Field on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Fans are invited to come early to the 5:30 tailgate outside WCF for free food and drinks.
“Alabama A&M is a very good team and could be the most talented team we will play all year,” Getman said. “We can’t worry whether it is a conference team or a non-conference team we are playing. We need to learn how to finish games off no matter who our opponent is.”
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