The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Clemson (Exh.)
Blazers Topple Clemson, 2-1, In Exhibition Opener
8/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 21, 2010
CLEMSON, S.C. - Freshman forward Norris Howze scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute to help lift the UAB men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory at Clemson Saturday night. The contest marked the exhibition opener for both teams.
Sophomore Kofi Gyawu added a first-half tally to help the Blazers past the Tigers for the third preseason in a row, with two of those wins coming on the Tigers' home pitch.
"It was as you would expect a first game to look," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "I thought the first 15 minutes both teams were pretty frantic. Both teams had opportunities and mistakes. I thought the game settled after that. We scored a nice goal to go up 1-0 and controlled the game most of way."
Howze's goal came at the 70:32 mark, just under three minutes after Clemson's Riley Sumpter tied the game on a penalty kick. Junior Chris Williams struck a corner kick, which found Howze. The Hoover, Ala. native won the header and beat Tigers' goalkeeper J.D. Spearman to the far post.
Gyawu opened the scoring in the 18th minute when he received a pass from preseason all-conference honoree Babayele Sodade, and buried a shot into the back of the net.
UAB outshot Clemson, 12-9, on the night, but the Tigers owned a slight advantage in shots on goal (7-6). Senior Anthony King recorded a game-high four shots as eight different Blazers recorded at least one shot.
"Overall, it was a good night for us," Getman said. "We played well at times, got our young guys some important game experience and at the end of the day, we won the game. I thought our new guys did a good job throughout the night.
"I was disappointed that we allowed a mistake and gave up a penalty kick, but I was happy that we shrugged that off and answered with a goal just three minutes later. We gave a great effort all night."
The Blazers will next play the second of their three preseason contests when they travel to Atlanta, Ga. to take on Georgia State on Wednesday. The contest is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT).
