The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Soccer Enters NSCAA Poll
9/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 13, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's soccer team officially returned to the national rankings on Tuesday, coming in at No. 23 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. Ironically, the Blazers were last ranked in the Nov. 16 poll last season, also at No. 23.
"It's nice that other coaches are recognizing the quality of this team," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "I would rather we weren't ranked and didn't have a target on our back."
UAB was ranked in the NSCAA poll for seven weeks in the 2004 season. With the final poll of 2004, the preseason poll of 2005 and last week's balloting, the Blazers were only absent from the rankings for three weeks. The Blazers reached an all-time high ranking of No. 3 in the early portion of the 2003 season. They reached as high as No. 17 last year.
Indiana continues to sit atop the poll with North Carolina, New Mexico, Virginia and Connecticut rounding out the top five. California sits at No. 6, setting up a top-25 showdown in next week's Stanford Nike Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., when UAB and Cal meet at noon PT Sunday. Memphis is the only other Conference USA club rated in the top 25. The Tigers are tied with UAB at No. 23 in this week's poll.
The Blazers are also garnering national respect from the various website and media polls. UAB entered the Soccer Times weekly poll this week at No. 22. College Soccer News has the Blazers in at No. 27, while Top Drawer Soccer lists UAB as the No. 31 team in the country. The only media poll without UAB listed is the Soccer America balloting.
UAB will put its national ranking on the line Friday night as the Blazers open home play in the UAB Sheraton Classic Friday and Sunday at West Campus Field. Birmingham-Southern and Evansville kick off the tournament with a 5 p.m. CT contest Friday. That match will be followed by a powerhouse showdown between the Blazers and UNC Greensboro, a team ranked No. 13 in this year's preseason NSCAA poll. Sunday's slate includes BSC against Greensboro at noon with UAB and Evansville battling at 2:30 p.m. CT. For tickets, call (205) 975-UAB1.
