The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Soccer Fights To 2-2 Draw Against Florida
2/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Feb. 15, 2004
ATLANTA --- The UAB women's soccer team opened its 2004 spring season with a 2-2 draw against the Florida Gators on Sunday as the Blazers' Tara Kidwell and Jenny Rynders each scored goals versus the perennial Southeastern Conference powerhouse.
"I'm very pleased with how we played today, said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "I think that it took us awhile to gain our composure, but once we did we played very well and we overcame the wet conditions and the sloppy field. I saw some really good things from our players, especially with the very limited time that we've had to practice, but I also saw some things that we need to work on."
Kidwell, the Blazers' leading scorer during the 2003 season, notched UAB's first goal of Sunday's contest off an assist from Rynders. Rynders, UAB's three-time team MVP, then added a score of her own to give the Blazers' an early 2-1 lead in the match. Her goal was setup by a precise lead-in pass from junior midfielder Jana Brauer.
Florida, which is perennially one of the top teams in the nation, scored a late goal on Sunday to tie the score at 2-2.
Last season, the Gators advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and finished the 2003 campaign with an impressive 19-4-2 overall record. The Gators reached the Final Four in 2001 and won the national championship in 1998.
"We played very well against one of the best teams in the country today," Harbin said. "Florida has a lot of tradition in women's soccer and they are usually among the finalists in the NCAA Tournament. They won the national championship in 1998 and I think that this was a good starting point for our spring season."
UAB, which won the Conference USA regular-season title last season, returned all but three players from last year's squad and has nine returning starters on its roster. Florida also returned a majority of its team from last season that had only four seniors graduate.
The UAB women's soccer team will next be in action on Feb. 28, as the Blazers face off against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Purdue Boilermakers at the 2004 GSC Fury College Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.
