The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Babayele Sodade Earns National Awards
10/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 24, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB senior forward Babayele Sodade is reaping the rewards of an outstanding performance on the pitch this past week. The Windsor, Ontario native was selected as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, while also being tabbed as the College Soccer News National Player of the Week.
Sodade earns his first league offensive player of the week honor this season and the second such accolade of his career. Additionally, he becomes the first UAB player to earn a national weekly award since former standout Dejan Jakovic was tabbed the Soccer America National Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 25, 2007.
Sodade had a huge week in helping UAB to extend its winning streak to five straight games and four-straight in league play with a home win over Memphis on Wednesday and a road victory at Marshall on Saturday. Sodade had a hand in all four Blazer goals on the week, scoring three times and assisting on the other goal. Furthermore, he also scored the game-winning tally in each contest.
Against the Tigers on Wednesday, Sodade's penalty kick conversion with 28 seconds remaining in regulation lifted UAB to a 1-0 win in the first-ever soccer match played at Regions Park - the site of the 2011 NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup.
Sodade followed that with a pair of goals and an assist to lead the Blazers past the Thundering Herd, 3-2, as UAB became the only C-USA team to escape with a win at Sam Hood Field this season. He scored on a header off a corner kick for the first goal of the game. He also assisted the second Blazer goal and scored the game-winner on a breakaway in the 87th minute.
Sodade has now had a hand in each of UAB's last five goals (4g, 1a) over its last three contests and has netted three straight game winners. He scored the game-winning tally to beat then-No. 6 UCF, 1-0, on Oct. 15 in addition to his game-winning markers this week. Sodade currenly leads UAB in goals (11), assists (5) and points (27) and sits atop C-USA with six game-winning goals this season.
With this week's selection, a UAB men's soccer player has earned a weekly honor from the league on six different occasions this season, which is tied for the second-most accolades during a campaign in program history (six in 2006). The only time the Blazers have earned more weekly awards in a year came during the 2009 campaign when they garnered eight weekly honors.
The Blazers will next face another stiff test when they travel to Dallas, Texas to take on nationally-ranked SMU on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT.
