The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Tulsa
Blazers Lose 1-0 to Tulsa
9/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Box Score 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men’s soccer team lost 1-0 to former Conference USA foe Tulsa on Friday night at BBVA Compass Field. The Golden Hurricane scored their lone goal in the 74th minute. The Blazers fall to 1-2-2 this season while Tulsa moves to 2-1-1 this campaign.
This was the second game of the 19th annual UAB “Soccer For A Cure” Classic. The first game was a 1-0 win by Rhode Island over Stetson.
“Overall, I thought we played well and controlled most of the match,” said UAB head coach Mike Getman. “We had lots of chances to score but just couldn’t get it to go in. When you don’t put your chances away, it eventually comes back to bite you. It was frustrating in the result but I was pleased with how they played and how hard they played.”
The first half was a defensive battle. The Blazers thoroughly controlled the final 15 minutes of the frame, producing multiple scoring chances. The most notable came from forward Massimo Ferrin who hit a chance just high in the 42nd minute and then in the 44th minute the freshman striker delivered a shot that went across the face of the goal before sliding out.
The Golden Hurricane picked up the pace in the second half. Tulsa outshot the Blazers 13-1 over the final 45 minutes and made the most of the best opportunity presented to them. A Golden Hurricane striker was taken down at the edge of the box and was awarded a free kick. Juan Sanchez hit the free kick into the side of the wall and Ray Saari followed up and finished the play with a shot across the ground to take a 1-0 lead.
“I thought we didn’t need to foul leading up to the set piece,” said Getman. “When you give free kicks around the goal area, sometimes bad things happen.”
The Blazers nearly tied the game in the final seconds. Forward Tarnue Tyler played a cross over to Ferrin with the clock-nearing zero. Ferrin made a move with the ball to the center and attempted a shot with less than 10 seconds left but a Tulsa defender blocked it and UAB was unable to get another shot attempt.
“Tarnue had a very good first half today and Massimo was good the whole game,” stated Getman. “Even the last two minutes, each of them had a couple chances. Both of those guys are going to score a lot of goals for us. As freshmen, some days it goes in and some days it doesn’t. But they are working hard, doing the things we ask them to do, and I’m confident both of them are going to have a great season for us.”
Tulsa held the shot advantage in the game at 16-9 and had five corners to UAB’s one.
UAB goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky had another quality performance. Coming off a career-best 10 saves against Coastal Carolina, Kuzminsky stopped six shots and erased multiple other opportunities before they could manifest for the Golden Hurricane.
The Blazers cap off the 2016 “Soccer For A Cure” Classic on Sunday, September 11 against Rhode Island. That game is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.
