The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Make Trek West for Cal State Fullerton Tournament
9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
UAB (3-2-0) vs. Cal State Fullerton (2-3-0)
9:30 p.m. CST | Fullerton, Calif. | Tital Stadium
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB women’s soccer team looks to make it three wins in a row when it takes the pitch Friday at 9:30 p.m. CT to face Cal State Fullerton from Titan Stadium.
UAB (3-2-0) is also scheduled to play UC Irvine Sunday at 4 p.m. from Titan Stadium. The Blazers, who haven’t faced a Big West Conference opponent since Hawaii in 2009, will battle both Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine for the first time in school history.
“We’re looking forward to our matches in California against two very strong teams,” UAB head coach Harold Warren said. “Both of these matches will be very challenging and great preparation for conference play.”
UAB enters the weekend coming off a 3-0 victory over McNesse State on Sunday for its first shutout of the season. Junior Rachel Green netted the game-winning goal in the third minute and Kelsey Daugherty made three saves to preserve the blanking.
Megan Hudgens notched her first goal of the season later in the first half, and Amy Brewer tallied the final score of the game minutes before halftime.
“Our team has grown very well over the course of the season and we need to really stay focused on what we try to do tactically in order to continue to keep winning,” Warren added. “The California teams will utilize a different style of play that we’re not necessarily accustomed to, so we will need to adapt to that quickly.”
Offensively, UAB is led by sophomore forward Caroline Kehrer, who ranks third in Conference USA in goals (3) and seventh in points (7). Junior Rachel Green leads UAB and is tied for second in the league with three assists. As a team, UAB ranks 24th in the NCAA with 2.4 assists per game.
Cal State Fullerton (2-3-0) snapped its three-game losing streak on Sunday when it posted a 1-0 home victory over San Jose State. The Titans, however, have scored only three goals this season and just one since its season-opening 2-1 win over Saint Mary’s on Aug. 19.
Forward Nano Oronoz and midfielders Tala Haddad and Johana Rosas have each scored one goal for the Titans.
UC Irvine (5-1-0) blanked Pittsburgh 5-0 in its most recent game and enters the tournament with its only loss coming Sept. 1 at Nevada. The Anteaters face Oregon Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the opening game of the tournament before meeting the Blazers on Sunday.
Junior forward Kiana Palacios leads UC Irvine and ranks fifth in the NCAA with six goals.
For more information on UAB women’s soccer, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WSOC), Instagram (@UAB_WSOC) and Snapchat (@UABAthletics).
