The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UNC Greensboro
Blazers Tie 2-2 at UNC Greensboro
9/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UAB men’s soccer team earned a 2-2 tie against UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon. The Blazers trailed twice in the game but found an answer each time from the foot of freshman Massimo Ferrin. UAB moves to 1-1-1 this year while UNCG is 1-0-2.
The game was originally scheduled for Friday night but was postponed due to the heavy rain from Hurricane Hermine.
“We gave up two goals that were disappointing that later in the season we won’t give up,” said UAB head coach Mike Getman. “But we fought back twice and didn’t give up. The guys battled hard and never put their head down. They showed a lot of character to come back twice.”
The Spartans controlled play in the first half as they produced the lone goal of the frame and outshot the Blazers 5-0. UNCG’s goal came in the 44th minute as Casey Penland placed a header in the top of the goal off a corner kick.
The second half was a fast-paced 45 minutes from each side with the two teams totaling 21 shots. The first goal of the half came from Ferrin in the 58th minute. The Spartans failed to clear the ball and it allowed Ferrin to score on a chance from 15 yards out.
The two teams would then each score within 23 seconds of one another. UNCG briefly regained the lead in the 78th minute when a counter attack led to a cross through the box that Faisal Almubaslat buried to go up 2-1. The first possession after the goal from UAB looked to have ended when a ball was played into the box and landed at the feet of a Spartans defender, but Ferrin forced a turnover and placed the ball in the lower right corner across the ground to tie the game up at 2-2.xs
The Blazers narrowly held on in the waning minutes of the second half. Goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky made a sensational diving stop after excellent passing by UNC Greensboro led to a scoring opportunity. The Spartans then produced multiple chances in the final 10 seconds. Alexander Lewis’ shot was pared away by Kuzminsky but went right to Damieon Thomas. Thomas then fired a shot that got by Kuzminsky but defender James Ngoe was waiting on the line to make the stop. UNCG had a final chance when Leeroy Maguraushe was able to get a foot to the ball as the clock was expiring but his shot went high.
The two 10-minute overtime periods saw limited chances for each side. The best scoring chance of the overtime periods went to the Blazers as defender Andrea Pelizza earned a one-on-one opportunity in the 104th minute. Pelizza’s shot went wide to the right though and neither team was able to produce a shot on goal after that.
UNC Greensboro outshot UAB 22-9 in the game but Kuzminsky had a big day with seven saves, one shy of his career-high. The senior netminder is now just three saves away from entering the top ten in school history.
Ferrin’s two goals marked the first time a UAB player scored twice since Karl Chester did it on October 24, 2015 against Florida Atlantic.
UAB has less than 48 hours to rest before its next game. On Monday, September 5, the Blazers take on Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers were ranked No. 21 in the NSCAA preseason poll and is currently receiving votes after a 0-2-0 start. That match is slated to kick-off at 12 p.m. CT.
“Rest and recovery,” said Getman on getting ready for Monday. “We’ll get back to it. The guys felt good about the performance today. We saw today that we have a lot of guys that can come on and play well. We will use that depth on Monday.
Notes: The last tie recorded by the Blazers was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 20, 2014 against Furman. The Paladins advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks … William White started his 19th straight game for UAB, the longest active streak on the team … The Blazers now own a +3 scoring margin in the second half of games this season and +49 dating back to 2009.
