The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Outdone by Memphis, 4-2, in Regular-Season Finale
10/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 27, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - On an evening that was deemed Senior Night at West Campus Field, the UAB women's soccer team fell to the Memphis Tigers, 4-2, on Friday night. The game served as the regular-season finale for the Blazers, who ended the year with an overall record of 6-11 and a 4-5 mark in Conference USA play. The match against the Tigers was also the final game for six seniors on their home turf. Seniors Leigh Burton, Katie Forbis, Philo Mbong, Julie McFarlane, Laura Richards and Jennifer Williams were all honored prior to the start of the contest.
"As a whole, I felt like we played well," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "We made some mistakes and a capable team like Memphis will capitalize on those mistakes."
Memphis, who now boasts a record of 10-6-2 overall and 6-2-1 in league games, wasted no time getting on the board, tallying a pair of goals within the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tigers' first score was courtesy of Kylie Hayes with an assist from Shoko Mikami in the sixth minute. Just over two minutes later, Geneil Newbern put one in the net for Memphis, assisted by Hayes.
The Blazers came right back, as sophomore Nadine Liverpool knocked in her first goal of the season at the 10 minute mark to tighten Memphis' lead to 2-1. A yellow card on the Tigers' Emiko Schwab inside the box set up a penalty kick for UAB, which was taken by junior Sally Palmer. Palmer's shot sailed above the goalkeeper's head for a Blazer goal and a tie game, 2-2, heading into halftime.
"We went down 2-0 and I thought we did an excellent job of coming back," said Harbin. "We battled and scored two quick goals ourselves to make it a tie game."
In the second half, Memphis regained the lead during the 53rd minute of the match as Newbern earned her second goal of the game with assists by Mikami and Hayes. One final goal for the Tigers in the 74th minute by Brittany Baldwin completed the final score at 4-2.
"I did not think we were as dominate at midfield in the second half," said Harbin. "We played fairly well though. Memphis is just a good team that is going to capitalize on any mistakes you make."
For the match, UAB out-shot Memphis, 18-11, including a 10-7 edge in shots-on-goal. Memphis goalie Isabel Briones allowed two goals and had eight saves on her way to earning the win. UAB goalkeepers Katie Forbis and Julie McFarlane split time in the net, with Forbis playing the first half and McFarlane stepping in during the second half. Forbis tallied a pair of saves on the night, while McFarlane had one save.
With the season winding down and all eyes on Dallas, Texas, the site of the 2006 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament, Memphis is sitting comfortable as they knew they had already clinched a spot in the tournament prior to the match with UAB.
The Blazers could have secured a spot with a win or tie, but a loss required some help from other teams for UAB's ticket to Dallas. The Blazers got that help tonight as Rice topped Houston to ensure UAB's entry into the conference tournament.
"We are happy to be in the tournament," said Harbin. "This is a whole new season now. This becomes a three-game season. We will spend the next few days working on some things, but we just need to keep doing what we are doing in our attack. We have attacked well as of late, and we need to keep doing that into the tournament."
The C-USA tournament will be held on November 1-5 in Dallas on the campus of SMU. Pairings for the tournament will be announced following this weekend.
