The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
10-4
Birmingham-Southern
5-9-2
Women's Soccer Blanks Birmingham-Southern, 2-0
10/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 19, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB women's soccer team posted its second shutout victory of the weekend on Sunday as the Blazers earned a dominant 2-0 win over the Birmingham-Southern Lady Panthers at West Campus Field. With the victory, UAB upped its all-time record to 3-0 versus Birmingham-Southern.
"The most important thing about today was that we got a win," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "Birmingham-Southern fought us tooth and nail and I knew that they would never give up. They did an excellent job of reorganizing in the second half and they did a good job of staying in the game. I have to give them some credit for the way that they played today."
UAB (10-4) completed its third weekend sweep of the season on Sunday.
In the win, the Blazers followed up their 1-0 shutout performance against Houston on Friday with its seventh shutout victory of the 2003 campaign. UAB's freshman goalkeeper Katie Forbis improved to an overall record of 8-2 with the win.
Birmingham-Southern (5-9-2) lost its third consecutive match against UAB. The Blazers took a 3-0 advantage in the all-time rivalry and UAB has never allowed a goal to the Lady Panthers. The Blazers have outscored Birmingham-Southern, 11-0, in the three meetings between the intra-city schools.
Tara Kidwell, UAB's explosive forward from Leesburg, Va., gave the Blazers an early 1-0 lead on Sunday as the junior scored the game-winning goal at 1:49 into the match. The score, Kidwell's team-leading eighth of the season, came on one of Blazers' first possessions of the contest and gave UAB the early momentum.
"Obviously, you want to score and put your stamp on the game as quickly as you can, but then sometimes when you do it that fast, the team can become a bit complacent," said Harbin. "Tara's goal was beautiful. It was a perfectly-run play and we were able to get some great ball movement. Tara's finish was excellent, but it was also a chance for our team to sit back and get complacent."
With the goal, Kidwell moved into a tie for fourth place on UAB's all-time, goal-scoring list with 22. As a junior, Kidwell averaged at least seven goals per season and is on pace to become the Blazers' all-time scoring leader. UAB's Pam Cooney and Liz Bosscher were both credited with assists on the play. Bosscher leads the team with five assists on the season.
UAB's Jill Knottek also scored the 22nd goal of her career on Sunday.
At 27:46, the Blazers' senior from Midland, Texas, drove the ball into Birmingham-Southern territory, maneuvered past a pair of Lady Panther defenders and rifled a shot neatly into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. On the score, Knottek also moved into a tie for fourth place on UAB's all-time, goal-scoring list. The Blazers' Jana Brauer earned her first assist of the season on the play.
"We came into this game wanting to play the best that we possibly could, but we also wanted to make certain that we were getting some more experience," Harbin said. "We used this match as an opportunity to give some of our girls some more playing time and that will pay off for us later on in conference play as well as the conference tournament."
All 20 of the Blazers' healthy players competed in Sunday's matchup.
UAB outshot the Lady Panthers, 15-9, and registered eight corner kicks in the match compared to only one for Birmingham-Southern. Senior Jennifer Calalang proved to be a scoring threat off of the bench for the Blazers as the native of Orlando, Fla., broke open for three shots and recorded two shots on goal.
The UAB women's soccer team will next be in action on Friday, Oct. 24, as the Blazers resume Conference USA play in a critical league matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs at 7 p.m. at West Campus Field.
--- agate to follow ---
UAB (10-4) def. Birmingham-Southern (5-9-2), 2-0
BSC 0 0 - 0
UAB 2 0 - 0
Scoring: UAB, Tara Kidwell (8) 1:49 (assists Pam Cooney and Liz Bosscher), Jill Knottek (7) 27:46 (assist Jana Brauer).
Saves: UAB, Katie Forbis 1, 0 goals allowed, Julie McFarlane 5, 0 goals allowed; BSC, Andria Gray 6, 2 goals allowed.
Cautions: None
Team Stats
KIDWELL, Tara (8)
Assisted By: COONEY, Pam , BOSSCHER, Liz
shot to the left side of the goal from 2
1:49
KNOTTEK, Jill (7)
Assisted By: BRAUER, Jana
10-yard shot to the left-hand corner
27:46
