The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Women's Soccer Topples No. 13 Tennessee, 4-0
8/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 22, 2003
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The UAB women's soccer team used two first-half goals from junior Tara Kidwell and a stellar defensive performance to shutout the 13th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols, 4-0, on Friday at the Alabama Shootout in Huntsville, Ala.
The one-sided victory came in UAB's opening competition of the 2003 exhibition season and marked the program's first win over the nationally ranked Lady Vols.
"We couldn't have asked for a better way to start the season," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "No way did I think that we would be able to beat this Tennessee team 4-0, especially when we were playing with two freshman goalkeepers. I knew coming into the match that we could score some goals and I think that the credit today has to go to our goalkeepers."
UAB's talented pair of freshman goalkeepers Julie McFarlane and Katie Forbis combined to earn a shutout on Friday and accounted for eight saves on the Lady Vols' 18 shot attempts. McFarlane, a native of Greenville, S.C., recorded five stops in the opening half of play, while Forbis blanked Tennessee's high-powered offense in the second frame. Forbis, a standout product of Memphis, Tenn., finished the contest with three saves.
With the victory, UAB improved to 1-0 in exhibition play, while the Lady Vols dropped to 0-1 on its 2003 preseason tour. A year ago, Tennessee advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament and finished the season as the 10th-ranked team in the nation.
"Tennessee's a very good team," Harbin said. "I think that 4-0 is a little bit of a misnomer because they had a lot of chances to score and it easily could have been a 4-3 or 4-4 match. In our training we've been doing a lot of battling and giving extra effort and it definitely seemed to work out for us on the defensive side of the ball tonight."
After a 40-minute delay to start the match due to faulty lighting, UAB's Kidwell made good use of the extra warm-up time by scoring two goals in the first 6:33 of the contest.
The Blazers' junior forward opened up the scoring just 4:07 into the contest making a nifty spin move around a Lady Vol defender and blasting a left-footed shot from 18 yards out that eluded Tennessee's sophomore keeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart. Kidwell, a preseason All-Conference USA selection, finished second in the league last year with 29 points on 10 goals and nine assists.
The striker victimized the Lady Vol defense again 2:26 later to provide UAB with a 2-0 advantage. The scoring play developed as UAB's freshman midfielder Jennifer Williams threaded a pass into the center of the field directly above the box where Kidwell one-timed from the right side 15 yards out into the upper left corner of the net.
"Tara's two goals at the beginning of the game were huge for us," said Harbin. "For us to come out and do that right away, and then for us to come out and do that right away again let them (Tennessee) know that if they made a mistake we we're going to have a good chance of capitalizing on it. That was big, because a lot of times in the past, we were the ones making a mistake against a top-25 team and losing by one goal."
UAB padded its lead 4:05 into the second frame when senior forward Jill Knottek converted a breakaway opportunity down the right wing off of a feed from junior Jenny Rynders. The Blazers gained possession in the midfield, where Rynders was able to find her teammate streaking down alone on Phillips-Bosshart to create UAB's third score of the night. Jenny Meyer closed the margin at 4-0 with 5:08 showing on the clock on an assist from Jessica Barr.
Friday night's contest was ended with 4:45 remaining in the game due to heavy winds and an ensuing torrential downpour.
The UAB women's soccer team will continue its two-game exhibition season on Sunday as the Blazers host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at 1 p.m. at the West Campus Soccer Field.
Sunday's contest is the first game of a doubleheader tabbed "UAB Fan Appreciation Day". The UAB men's soccer team is scheduled to play Montevallo at 3 p.m. in the second match. Admission is free for both contests.
--- agate to follow ---
SCORING SUMMARY John Hunt Park * Huntsville, Ala. 1 2 F UAB 2 2 4 #13 TENNESSEE 0 0 0
UAB: Tara Kidwell (Unassisted), 4:07 UAB: Tara Kidwell (Jennifer Williams), 6:33 UAB: Jill Knottek (Jenny Rynders), 49:55 UAB: Jenny Meyer (Jessica Barr), 84:52
Shots: UAB 9, Tennessee 18. Saves: Julie McFarlane (UAB) 45:00, 5 saves, 0 goals; Katie Forbis (UAB) 40:15, 6 saves, 0 goals; Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart (UT) 85:15, 4 saves, 4 goals.
