The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Travels To Take On No. 10 UIC
9/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 3, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB men's soccer team will return to action when it travels to Chicago, Ill. to take on the No. 10-ranked UIC Flames on Friday at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the second consecutive game that the Blazers will face a which captured its league title and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
"We wanted to play good teams in our non-conference season that can give us a good measuring stick of where we are," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "Four of our first five opponents this year are very good teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament. We will certainly have our work cut out for us because UIC is a terrific team and very deserving of a top-10 ranking."
The Blazers are coming off a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to 2008 Summit Conference Champions Oakland last Tuesday night. UAB lost the contest despite holding a 13-5 advantage on corner kicks and controlling possession throughout most of the contest.
The Flames, who are playing their season-opening contest when UAB invades Flames Field, launch their quest for a Horizon League title and a fourth consecutive NCAA tournament berth. UIC has advanced to the Sweet 16 in each of the last two postseasons.
This season, UIC enters its season-opener as a unanimous preseason Top 12 team (No. 10 in NSCAA/Adidas, No. 11 in SoccerTimes.com and No. 12 in Soccer America) heading into the weekend, including a school-best preseason No. 10 ranking from the NSCAA. UIC returns eight starters, including All-American goalkeeper and national player of the year candidate Jovan Bubonja.
The contest should be a terrific battle between two very good teams if last year's match gives any indication. The Flames narrowly captured a 1-0 win at UAB's West Campus Field a season ago. The UIC goal came at the 83:32 mark when Charlie Trout drilled home the game winner from 12-yards out into the lower right corner of the net. The match was played evenly throughout, as UIC outshot UAB, 8-7, but the Blazers had a 5-2 advantage on corner kicks.
All the action can be followed live on Gametracker, by logging on the official website for UAB athletics, UABSports.com.
