The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Travels to UNC Greensboro
9/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB men's soccer team goes on the road for the first time this season when it faces UNC Greensboro on Friday night in Greensboro, N.C. The Blazers enter the game at 1-1-0 while the Spartans boast a 1-0-1 record.
"It's the first real road trip of the season," said UAB head coach Mike Getman. "With so many young players on the team, you don't know how they are going to react on the road. Do they handle travel well, or sleeping in the hotel well, or a rowdy crowd that is not on your side? We shall see. It will be a good learning experience."
HOW TO FOLLOW
GAME NOTES • UAB
LIVE STATS • Stat Tracker
LIVE VIDEO • SoCon Digital Network
TWITTER • @UAB_MSoc
INSTAGRAM • @UAB_MSoc
SNAPCHAT • UABathletics
| UAB Blazers | Team | UNC Greensboro |
| 1-1-0 | Overall Record | 1-0-1 |
| 0-0-0 (C-USA) | Conference Record | 0-0-0 (SoCon) |
| 3-2-0 | Series Record | 2-3-0 |
| 1.00 | Goals Per Game | 2.00 |
| 0.50 | Goals Against Average | 1.00 |
| Andrew Nkpolukwu (2) Rami Dajani (2) | Points Leader | Four tied with 2 points |
WEEKEND RECAP
UAB opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Memphis last Friday. The Blazers fired 15 shots in the game, their most since Sept. 13, 2015, against Gardner-Webb when they had 17 shots. The Tigers found their lone goal in the 12th minute and withstood UAB's barrage of shots to win their first game in Birmingham since 2003.
The Blazers bounced back with a 2-0 win against Xavier two days later. UAB received second half goals from midfielder Andrew Nkpolukwu and forward Rami Dajani less than four minutes apart. For Nkpolukwu, it was his first career goal and Dajani his 13th career goal. Goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky added a shutout with four saves in net.
CLICKING IN THE SECOND HALF
UAB's second half goals continue a strong trend in its recent history. Dating back to 2009, the Blazers are outscoring teams 139-91 in the second half of games, good for a +48 scoring margin.
SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO
The Spartans have had an affinity for scoring through their first two games, scoring four goals across two games. UNC Greensboro has scored three of those goals in the second half, including scoring twice within 10 minutes to come back from a 2-0 deficit in its last contest versus North Florida to earn a 2-2 tie. The Spartans won the SoCon last year with an 11-5-5 overall record and are the preseason favorites this season. Midfielder Leeroy Maguraushe is the returning leading scorer after registering 18 points as a freshman.
"We haven't played Greensboro in a couple years, but we have a good past history with them," said Getman. "The Spartans are a very good team and have been a good program for a long time. They are defending conference champions so we know they are going to be well prepared and well organized. It's going to be a difficult challenge. It will be a fun match. They are a pretty skillful and athletic team so I expect it to be a fun game to play in but a tough challenge."
