The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Team Improves National Ranking
11/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 9, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- On the strength of capturing a share of its first Conference USA regular season title since 1999, the UAB men's soccer team moved up in the national rankings this week. The Blazers are ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation in this week's top-25 polls.
More importantly, UAB remains one of the top teams in the NCAA RPI rankings, checking in at No. 14 this week's RPI, which was released on Tuesday. It remains the best RPI in Conference USA, while the Green and Gold continues to be the highest ranked C-USAteam in the polls.
The Blazers are ranked unanimously in each of the four major soccer polls, with the highest ranking of No. 16 in the nation by Soccer Times and Soccer America. UAB is also ranked No. 17 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and No. 19 by College Soccer News. Furthermore, the Blazers remain at No. 2 in the NSCAA Midwest Region rankings.
UAB enters this week's C-USA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation, currently riding an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1). It is the longest unbeaten streak for the Blazers since an 11-game run during the 2000 campaign (10-0-1).
The Blazers finished the regular season with a 12-3-3 overall record and a 6-1-1 mark in conference play. South Carolina, which also finished with a 6-1-1 record against conference competition, earned the tournament's No. 1 overall seed as a result of its 1-0 win over UAB on Oct. 4 - the last loss for the Blazers.
UAB also earned a first-round bye and the No. 2 overall seed in the event, which will be played in Tulsa, Okla., starting on Wednesday. The Blazers will not play until Friday's semifinals at 7:30 p.m. CT, when they take on the winner of third-seeded UCF and No. 6 seed Memphis. The championship game is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Fans can follow all the action by logging onto the Tournament Central page on ConferenceUSA.com.
