The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Opens Preseason Camp
8/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's soccer team hit the field Wednesday morning for the first preseason session in preparation for the upcoming 2015 season.
"With the first day, we tell our guys this morning is the most important," head coach Mike Getman said. "We start with a fitness test, and how the team does overall tells us a lot about what they've done this summer and how we're going to be this fall. This was the best performance we've ever had on the fitness test, so I couldn't be more pleased with where we're starting out."
This year's squad features 19 returners along with eight newcomers. Freddy Ruiz, the defending Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, returns for his senior campaign, along with seniors Ian Svantesson, Stewart Abrahart, Karl Chester and Cole Iverson.
Svantesson, a 2014 all-conference honoree, returns to anchor the defense, as other all-conference honorees Mathieu Laurent, DeAndre Robinson and David Valverde also return to the pitch to help lead the Blazers.
UAB was picked to finish fifth in the C-USA Preseason Poll according to the league's head coaches, and was one of five C-USA teams who either were ranked or received votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Preseason Poll.
The Blazers open the exhibition slate Tuesday, Aug. 18 at Louisville for a 7:30 p.m. contest. UAB then returns home Saturday, Aug. 22 to host Clemson at 7 p.m. at West Campus Field.
"We know that this team has the talent to be very, very good," Getman said. "Our expectations are to go a very long way in the NCAA Tournament. In order to prepare for that, we've got to find out where our weaknesses are. We need a challenge right from the start to fix what issues we might have, and so we scheduled two of the best teams in the country right from the beginning."
The 2015 regular season opens Aug. 28 at Memphis, and the Blazers return home Aug. 30 for the home opener vs. Stetson.
For more information on the UAB men's soccer team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MensSoccer). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
