The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
UAB Falls To Memphis, 2-1, In Regular Season Finale
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Senior midfielder Caitlin Marple scored UAB's only goal in the first two minutes of the game as the Blazers' women's soccer team fell to Conference USA foe Memphis, 2-1, Thursday evening at West Campus Field.
Thursday's loss marked UAB's first loss in seven games (4-1-2). The Blazers' record moves to 7-10-2 overall and 5-4-2 in league games. Memphis improved its record to 12-4-2 overall and 8-2-1 in the conference.
The contest had barely started when Marple found the back of the net in the second minute of the game, with an assist by junior midfielder Ayana Russell, to give the Blazers the early 1-0 lead. The goal was Marple's first of the season, and the third of her career.
Memphis' Lizzy Simonin tied the game at 1-1 with 29 seconds left before halftime when she scored her eighth goal of the season for the Tigers. Ashley Berra was credited with the assist.
After halftime, Emiko Schwab scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for Memphis when she headed in a corner kick from Laura Laufenberg in the 49th minute of the match to give the Tigers the 2-1 conference victory.
"I thought Memphis had the run of play in the first 10 to 15 minutes," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "They did a good job of keeping us under pressure. We didn't possess the ball much during that time.
"I think at some point we just settled in and the momentum shifted a little bit. It became a good end-to-end game. I thought both teams played well.
"In the second half, we came out and played well, but so did Memphis. Both teams had some good opportunities. We gave up that second goal on the corner kick, and unfortunately, we have given up too many of those this year."
"I think we were a little too loose in the midfield tonight," said Marple. "We were having trouble winning balls because they were stepping in front of us a lot. We picked it up towards the end of the second half, but it was too late then. We need to learn from this experience because we can't wait until it's too late next week at the tournament."
Memphis edged out UAB in total shots, 17-15. The Tigers tallied 12 shots on goal, compared to five for the Blazers.
Marple, freshman midfielder/forward Laura McCalla and freshman forward Tiffini Turpin paced UAB with three shots apiece. All three of McCalla's attempts were shots on goal.
Simonin and Kylie Hayes led Memphis in total shots with three each. All three of Simonin's shots were on goal and Hayes recorded two shots on goal.
Despite grabbing 10 saves on the night, sophomore Kate Blankenship received the loss in goal for the Blazers. Goalkeeper Elise Kuhar-Pitters earned the win for Memphis with four saves against UAB.
Thursday's game also served as Senior Night for the Blazers, honoring Marple and Nadine Liverpool for their accomplishments and contributions to the UAB women's soccer program over the past four years.
"Nadine and Caitlin are two very special people that have come through this program," said Harbin. "The things that they have done on the field, along with how they carry themselves away from the field, they represent this team and UAB in a great way. They are a huge part of this program."
Next up for UAB is the 2008 Conference USA Tournament, hosted by Rice in Houston, Texas on Nov. 5-9. The Blazers, who have already clinched a berth in the league tournament, will play their opening round game on Nov. 5. UAB will have to wait until this weekend's games have been completed to find out its first round opponent in the tournament.
"We've played well in the last seven games," said Liverpool. " We're going to use that and take that momentum into the tournament. We are approaching this as a brand new season. We are going to work hard and make sure we do everything that we can do to come away with a championship."
"The tournament is just a short, three-game season," said Harbin. "With our conference, it doesn't really matter where you end up being seeded. Every game is going to be tough. It's just a matter of one game at a time now and anything can happen in the tournament."
