The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Samford
UAB Edged By Samford, 1-0
9/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to cross-town foe Samford on Sunday evening at Bulldog Soccer Field. The Blazers fall to 3-3, while the Bulldogs improve to 2-2-1.
"It was a tale of two halves for us," UAB head coach Paul Harbin said. "We just didn't play very well in the first half. We didn't really need to make adjustments at halftime, we just needed to step up and play. We possessed the ball in the second half and had some good opportunities, but we have to give ourselves the entire match to get it done, not just one half."
Samford scored the eventual game-winner in the 13th minute when Kaley Blanton beat her defender and buried a shot into the corner of the net.
UAB's chances were minimal in the first half, as the Blazers had just three shots. The most dangerous chance came in the 26th minute when Samford keeper Alyssa Whitehead came out from between the posts and junior forward Laura McCalla tapped the ball toward the open net, but a Bulldog defender knocked it away to end the threat.
The Blazers picked up the pace in the second half with eight shots, including three on frame. UAB had a chance in the 61st minute when McCalla shook loose from her defender and fired a shot from the six, but Whitehead was there to make the stop.
The Green and Gold continued to pressure late in the second half as freshman forward Sam Bradford narrowly missed on a header with eight minutes remaining, but UAB was unable to come up with a goal.
The Blazers finished the match with an 11-9 shot advantage, while Samford took five corners compared to the Blazers' three. UAB senior goalkeeper Kate Blankenship made three saves in the contest, while Whitehead finished with four.
UAB returns home Thursday, hosting the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at 6 p.m.
