The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Coastal Carolina
Men's Soccer Earns 0-0 Draw at Coastal Carolina
9/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Final Stats (PDF)
CONWAY, S.C. – The UAB men’s soccer team tied Coast Carolina 0-0 on Monday afternoon after an evenly played game from both sides. The Blazers are now undefeated in three straight games and improve to 1-1-2 this season. The hosting Chanticleers, ranked No. 21 in the preseason NSCAA poll, are 0-2-1 this season.
“We were unlucky not to win,” said UAB head coach Mike Getman. “To go on the road and get two overtimes ties is pretty good. I was really proud of the effort our team gave in back-to-back overtime games.”
The Blazers were coming off a 2-2 draw at UNC Greensboro on Saturday while Coastal Carolina had a week off following a postponement of its game versus VCU.
The Chanticleers fired 27 shots in the game with 10 being on frame. Blazers goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky answered with a career-high 10 saves to preserve the shutout. The UAB defense added seven blocked shots.
“Defensively, we have been rock solid all year long,” said Getman. “We have been really good and we controlled the way most of this game was played. We could be undefeated right now if it wasn’t for a deflected corner kick versus Memphis.”
Kuzminsky had two similar saves that preserved the shutout in the second half and overtime. Coastal set up similar opportunities in the 76th and 99th minutes, crossing the ball into the box to set-up header opportunities, but Kuzminsky got his body behind the ball each time to prevent goals.
The Blazers controlled the overtime periods, outshooting the Chanticleers 5-3 across the extra 20 minutes of play. The first big opportunity came in the first minute of overtime when forward Tarnue Tyler used a juke to avoid one defender and was taken down by another defender to set-up a free kick for forward Massimo Ferrin. Ferrin, coming off a two-goal effort against UNC Greensboro, delivered a beautiful strike on the free kick that hit the crossbar and hung in the air for a few seconds before being corralled by Chanticleers goalkeeper Braulio Linares-Ortiz.
UAB continued to push in the overtime periods but were unable to find pay dirt. It was the first back-to-back overtime games for the Blazers since 2013.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” stated Getman. “The main take away from this weekend is the team is tough, mentally and physically. There is lots of little details we can improve upon but they have the mentality and the fighting spirit we look for.”
The Blazers enter another weekend with two across three days as they host the UAB Soccer For A Cure Classic. UAB plays Tulsa on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 p.m. and then welcomes Rhode Island on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2:00 p.m.
