The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Releases 2008 Schedule
6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
June 18, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Home matches against some of the top men's soccer programs in the country, including SMU, Tulsa, UC-Irvine and Kentucky highlight the 2008 UAB men's soccer schedule, announced by head coach Mike Getman on Wednesday. Additionally, next year's slate marks the second straight season that the Blazers will play 10 regular-season home games, which matches the single-season record set on two previous occasions (2007 and 1998).
"This will be one of our toughest schedules in program history," Getman said. "Thank goodness we have 10 of the games at home. It should be a very exciting campaign for our team and our fans."
Following two exhibition contests (at Clemson on Aug. 17 and at home against Georgia State on Aug. 23) to open the campaign, UAB will begin the regular season in a road tournament for the sixth consecutive year. This year, the Blazers will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to compete at the Memphis Classic on Aug. 29-31. UAB will open the 2008 slate against Oral Roberts on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m., followed by Bradley at 3 p.m. on Aug. 31. It will be the first time UAB has played either school on the soccer pitch.
The first weekend of September is when the Blazers will open their home slate with a 7 p.m. contest against Illinois-Chicago, followed by a 2 p.m. kickoff against Mercer. It marks the third consecutive season the Blazers and Bears will meet on the soccer field, with UAB holding a 1-0-1 advantage over the stretch of games.
The Blazers will remain at West Campus Field the following weekend to host the 11th annual UAB "Soccer For A Cure" Classic on Sept. 12-14. This year's venue should be another exciting tournament, as Memphis and Western Illinois will open the tournament when they play on Friday, Sept. 12, at 3:30 p.m., while UAB will host UC-Irvine at 8 p.m. On the tournament's final day, Memphis and the Anteaters will meet on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Classic's finale at 2 p.m. with UAB and Western Illinois squaring off.
The Blazers will then travel to compete in their final regular-season tournament, the Charlotte Classic. UAB will open against Davidson on Sept. 19 at 5 p.m., before squaring off against tournament host and former Conference USA rival Charlotte at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 21.
After UAB returns from Charlotte, it will begin league play at Memphis (7 p.m.) on Sept. 27. The Blazers will then have a stretch of five of the next six games at the friendly confines of West Campus Field. Over the next six contests, the Blazers will host defending C-USA champion Tulsa (10/4), Alabama A&M (10/8), Kentucky (10/18), SMU (10/22) and Southern Illinois (10/25). The only road game during the home stretch is an Oct. 11 contest at UCF.
The Blazers will close the regular season with two road games at South Carolina (10/29) and at Florida International (11/1), before returning home for the regular-season finale against Marshall on Nov. 7.
The 2008 Conference USA Tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 12-16.
