The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Soccer Unveils 2005 Schedule
3/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
March 26, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Four in-season tournaments, five top-25 teams and the new-look Conference USA highlight the 2005 UAB men's soccer schedule, released today by Blazers' head coach Mike Getman. The 2005 edition of UAB soccer will field a team with all but two letterwinners returning from a 2004 squad which was both the regular season and postseason tournament runner-up in C-USA.
"This schedule will certainly test us as a soccer team," Getman said. "With five teams ranked in the top 25 in the final poll for last season, plus the new challenges from our new conference opponents, we are going to be challenged every match. In addition to the UNC Greensboro's, California's, Tulsa's and SMU's, we face Stanford, a very good Rhode Island team, plus Alabama A&M, with which we always have a tough contest. We have some very good talent returning and our hope is that we put ourselves in position to compete for a conference championship and make a run in the NCAA tournament."
UAB will battle Clemson in a preseason exhibition match on Aug. 27 at West Campus Field before competing in four straight in-season tournaments to open regular season play. The Blazers will travel to play in the University of Rhode Island Invitational Sept. 2 and 4 to face Rhode Island and Maine. They will then compete in the Birmingham-Southern Puma Classic against in-state rival Alabama A&M and Georgia State before hosting the UAB LaQuinta Classic at West Campus Field Friday and Sunday, Sept. 16 and 18. UAB will face No. 9 UNC Greensboro on Friday and Evansville Sunday while Birmingham-Southern will play the opposite team in the first of the double-header matches in the classic. The Blazers will then compete in the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., where they will play the host Cardinal and Pac-10 power and No. 18 California on Sept. 23 and 25, respectively.
After tournament play, the Blazers then face a new-look Conference USA slate. SMU, Tulsa, Marshall and Central Florida all join the league in 2005 as full members. South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida International are joining Conference USA as affiliate members in men's soccer only for the 2005 campaign.
"We already had a very good league for men's soccer," Getman said. "Now we have a great league for men's soccer. Tulsa, SMU and Memphis were all top-25 teams in the final poll last year. Kentucky was ranked toward the end of last year and South Carolina has been to two final fours in men's soccer, and Marshall, Central Florida and Florida International are all strong soccer programs. This lineup solidifies Conference USA as one of the upper-tier men's soccer leagues in the country."
UAB begins C-USA play with difficult road matches at SMU and Tulsa. Those two finished the 2004 season ranked No. 11 and No. 8, respectively, in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. UAB will the host East Carolina, new C-USA men's soccer member South Carolina and No. 25 Memphis at West Campus field before road games at Marshall and Kentucky, both new league members. The regular season closes out with Central Florida and Florida International at home October 28 and 30, respectively.
Getman's club finished the 2004 season 12-7 overall and 7-2 in Conference USA play. The Blazers return 2004 All-Conference USA selections Leandro de Oliveira, Sandy Gbandi and Joe Klosterman, as well as 22 other players for the 2005 season.
