The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Mladen Lemez Racking Up Weekly Awards
9/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB defender Mladen Lemez is reaping the rewards of his outstanding performance on the pitch this past week. The native of Sarajevo, Bosnia has been selected as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, which were both announced on Monday.
"This is a great honor and very deserving award for Mladen," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "Mladen is an extremely talented player and is one of the top defenders in the nation. We are not surprised he is scoring goals because it is something he is capable of doing. In fact, I am more surprised it has taken him this long to score goals. He has done a great job for us this season and I am pleased that his play has received deserved attention."
Lemez had a tremendous weekend in leading the Blazers to the 2011 UAB "Soccer For A Cure" Classic title. The central defender was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player by helping shut down the opposition and also scoring three goals in wins over No. 20 VCU and Milwaukee.
Lemez played every minute of both overtime contests. In the victory over the nationally-ranked Rams, he scored the Blazers' first goal off a direct kick to even the score and help UAB to a 2-1 overtime win. On Sunday, Lemez scored the game-tying goal in the 86th minute and the game-winning tally at the 95:27 mark, both on headers, to lift the Blazers to a 2-1 comeback victory over the Panthers. He also collected a career-best five shots, four shots of which frame, against Milwaukee, despite playing in the defense.
Moreover, Lemez was a main catalyst in the defensive end of the field, helping to hold the opposition to only two goals in the two contests - one of which was a penalty kick and the other coming from 45-yards out which went through the hands of UAB's goalkeeper. He is a big reason why UAB is off to its second-best start (5-0-2) in school history.
This marks the first time Lemez has earned a weekly conference or national accolade. It marks the fourth time in four weeks that a Blazer been honored by the conference office, joining goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski (defensive player of the week for Aug. 29 and Sept. 6) and Diego Navarrete (offensive player of the week for Sept. 13).
The Blazers will attempt to keep their unbeaten start to the season going when they travel to the west coast to compete at the Washington Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash. this weekend. UAB will open play on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT against Portland, followed by taking on tournament host Washington on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. CT.
