The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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South Florida
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CHAMPIONS !!!!! Women's Soccer Wins C-USA Regular-Season Title
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 31, 2003
TAMPA, Fla. --- The UAB women's soccer team earned its first Conference USA Championship on Friday as the Blazers defeated the USF Bulls, 2-0, on the road in Tampa, Fla. UAB's Tara Kidwell and Jill Knottek each scored second-half goals to lead the Blazers to victory.
"This was a great win," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "It was a tremendous team effort for us and we had to have some people step up for us today. We had to deal with some injuries, but our players did what they had to do and now we're going to take the next 24 hours off to enjoy this win. It was a huge victory for this team and for this program and it feels good to accomplish this goal."
UAB (13-4, 8-2 C-USA) extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches on Friday and set the school record for shutouts in a season with nine. The Blazers also earned the top seed in the 2003 C-USA Tournament which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in Charlotte, N.C.
USF (8-7-2, 6-3-1 C-USA) lost its first match in nearly three weeks and dropped its only home conference matchup of the season. Prior to Friday's meeting with UAB, the Bulls owned an unblemished 4-0 record at the USF Soccer Stadium against league competition.
"USF is a really good team and they are always very well-prepared tactically," Harbin said. "Coach (Logan) Fleck does a great job with them and they are very dangerous in transition. They had some good chances against us today and even late in the second half, they never gave up."
With the match in a dead heat at 0-0 in the second half, UAB's junior forward, Kidwell, connected on a corner kick from Jessica Samulski to tally the Blazers' game-winning goal. At 66:41, Samulski sent a perfectly-placed ball into the box where Kidwell headed it into the back of the net for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Samulski, who is tied for the team lead in assists with six on the year, played a pivotal role in Friday's contest as the senior from Columbia, S.C., consistently forced the action with quality corner kicks into USF's defensive front. UAB totaled 11 corner kicks on Friday, while the Bulls turned in five.
The Blazers' Kidwell continued her rise in the record book in the victory.
With her decisive second-half goal, the Leesburg, Va. native moved into a three-way tie for second place on UAB's all-time goal-scoring list with 24 career goals. Kidwell, a junior, only needs two more scores to surpass former Blazer great Melissa Urbani as the program's leading goal scorer.
"I knew that I could count on Tara to score a goal," said Harbin. "She is playing some excellent soccer right now, and I think that she is absolutely one of the best players in the league. Tara is just Tara and today she did an outstanding job of making USF pay a lot of attention to her. This was a great team effort for us."
UAB's Knottek scored a vital second-half goal at 76:29 in the match that gave the Blazers a 2-0 lead. UAB owns a stellar 10-1 record on the season when scoring at least two goals and the Blazer defense has only allowed scores in four conference matches this season.
Knottek, a senior from Midland, Texas, tallied her eighth goal of the season on Friday as she rifled a shot from 30-yards out that caromed off of the crossbar and found the back of the net.
The Blazers' forward, who teams with Kidwell to form one of the most dominant scoring tandems in C-USA history, is only one goal behind her colleague on UAB's all-time, goal-scoring list. Knottek is currently in sole possession of fourth place on the list with 23 career goals.
"Jill had a great game for us today," said Harbin. "Liz (Bosscher) was not feeling 100 percent after her foot injury last week, so we moved Jill to the back and she did an outstanding job for us. She is such a versatile player and her flexibility has really helped us out a lot all season long. I think we had her playing three different positions today and she scored our second goal."
UAB earned its first regular-season championship on Friday and notched its best C-USA mark of all-time. The Blazers finished the regular season with an 8-2 conference mark and have won the most matches (13) in school history.
UAB and USF fought to a scoreless 0-0 tie in the first half of Friday's crucial C-USA matchup. The Blazers rattled off eight shot attempts during the opening 45:00 minutes of play and forced USF's goalkeeper Breck Bankester to make seven saves. The Bulls attempted four shots in the first half of play with only one of them coming on goal.
The UAB women's soccer team will next be in action on Wednesday, Nov. 5, as the Blazers play in the first round of the 2003 C-USA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. The times and matchups of the four first-round contests have yet to be determined by the league office.
--- agate to follow ---
UAB (13-4, 8-2 C-USA) def. USF (8-7-2, 6-3-1 C-USA), 2-0
UAB 0 2 - 2
USF 0 0 - 0
Scoring: UAB, Tara Kidwell (10) 66:41 (assist Jessica Samulski), Jill Knottek (8) 76:29 (unassisted).
Saves: UAB, Katie Forbis 3, 0 goals allowed; USF, Breck Bankester 8, 2 goals allowed. Cautions: None
Team Stats
KIDWELL, Tara (10)
Assisted By: SAMULSKI, Jessica
header off corner kick
66:41
KNOTTEK, Jill (8)
30-yards out, hit crossbar, bounced in
75:23
