The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Vanderbilt
Blazers Lose For First Time This Season
9/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama-----The UAB women's soccer team mounted a second-half comeback, but came up a little short versus Vanderbilt. The Blazers were down 3-0 at half, but rallied for two goals in the second period. However, the Commodores scored their fourth and final goal with less than three minutes left in the game, handing UAB it's first loss of the season.
"I was calm at halftime, I just told our players that a comeback was attainable," said head coach Paul Harbin. "We made some tactical changes, but mostly we had to change our own mentality. In the first half, we believed we would give the ball away and that's what happened. I just told them to believe that they could possess the ball."
In the first half, the Blazers came out sluggish, largely due to their recent trip to Hawaii. Vanderbilt took full advantage. In the 12th minute, Michelle Bruntlett scored on a rebound off the crossbar. The Commodores scored again in the 42nd minute on an unassisted direct kick by Katharine Carroll. With less than four minutes left until half, Jen Talavera scored on a loose ball in the box.
"If I could give advice to coaches, I'd tell them not to be in Hawaii on Sunday and schedule a tough opponent at home on Thursday," said Harbin. "No matter what, we have to take responsibility for this game and this loss."
The Blazers battled back in the second half, coming out with renewed energy. Jennifer Calalang put the ball in the back of the net on a cross from Jana Brauer. Only nine minutes later, Brauer scored off a corner kick from Briana McCarty. The home crowd of 436 were cheering UAB on, but the Commodores fought back. Bruntlett scored her second goal of the night, putting an end to an exciting comeback for the Blazers.
UAB travels to Auburn on Sunday, September 8th, to take on the Tigers at 2 p.m.
