The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men’s Soccer Opens Preseason Against No. 5 Clemson
8/11/2017 4:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's soccer team opens its 2017 preseason slate on Saturday night when it hosts No. 5 Clemson at BBVA Compass Field. The Blazers and Tigers are slated to kickoff at 6:00 p.m.
"Clemson, we've had a great series with over the last five or six years," head coach Mike Getman said. "They're a top class team, ranked No. 5 in preseason, it'll be a great challenge for us and a great way to see if we're on track or not. We know we'll learn a lot but I also expect it to be a great game."
UAB returns 21 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished tied for sixth in Conference USA. Among those returners are Massimo Ferrin, Tarnue Tyler and Rami Dajani who ranked second, third and fifth in goals respectively for the Blazers in 2016.
Senior midfielder David Valverde, who was recently tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team, leads the midfield. Valverde is coming off of a stellar junior campaign that ended with him garnering Second Team All-Conference honors.
Team captain Mathieu Laurent will once again anchor the backline for the Blazers. At the defender position, Laurent played a crucial role in the UAB defense that allowed 14 fewer goals last season than it did the year before.
The one position that will be the most intriguing is in the net. For the first time in four seasons the Blazers will be without Joe Kuzminsky. Sophomore Julian Mehl, who served as Kuzminsky's backup last season, joins James Teal and Seth Torman as potential candidates to fill the role as the starting keeper.
Clemson comes to Birmingham as the preseason No. 5 after finishing the 2016 season 14-4-5 and making it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return their leading scorer in Diego Campos who netted six goals and finished the season with 16 points.
"We want to play the teams that challenge us," Getman said. "We know that in C-USA every weekend is going to be a great game so we need a game like this to show us what we're good at and what we're not good at while we still have time to fix things and hopefully get better."
The two teams have met three other times before in the regular season with the Blazers holding the 2-1-0 advantage. The two squads last meeting resulted in a UAB 2-0 win at Clemson on Sept. 10, 2012.
UAB has one final tune-up on Saturday when it hosts West Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. Prior to the start of the game the Blazers will host their 25th annual Youth Clinic at West Campus Fields beginning at 4:00.
For more information on the UAB men's soccer team follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MSoc).
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's soccer team opens its 2017 preseason slate on Saturday night when it hosts No. 5 Clemson at BBVA Compass Field. The Blazers and Tigers are slated to kickoff at 6:00 p.m.
"Clemson, we've had a great series with over the last five or six years," head coach Mike Getman said. "They're a top class team, ranked No. 5 in preseason, it'll be a great challenge for us and a great way to see if we're on track or not. We know we'll learn a lot but I also expect it to be a great game."
UAB returns 21 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished tied for sixth in Conference USA. Among those returners are Massimo Ferrin, Tarnue Tyler and Rami Dajani who ranked second, third and fifth in goals respectively for the Blazers in 2016.
Senior midfielder David Valverde, who was recently tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team, leads the midfield. Valverde is coming off of a stellar junior campaign that ended with him garnering Second Team All-Conference honors.
Team captain Mathieu Laurent will once again anchor the backline for the Blazers. At the defender position, Laurent played a crucial role in the UAB defense that allowed 14 fewer goals last season than it did the year before.
The one position that will be the most intriguing is in the net. For the first time in four seasons the Blazers will be without Joe Kuzminsky. Sophomore Julian Mehl, who served as Kuzminsky's backup last season, joins James Teal and Seth Torman as potential candidates to fill the role as the starting keeper.
Clemson comes to Birmingham as the preseason No. 5 after finishing the 2016 season 14-4-5 and making it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return their leading scorer in Diego Campos who netted six goals and finished the season with 16 points.
"We want to play the teams that challenge us," Getman said. "We know that in C-USA every weekend is going to be a great game so we need a game like this to show us what we're good at and what we're not good at while we still have time to fix things and hopefully get better."
The two teams have met three other times before in the regular season with the Blazers holding the 2-1-0 advantage. The two squads last meeting resulted in a UAB 2-0 win at Clemson on Sept. 10, 2012.
UAB has one final tune-up on Saturday when it hosts West Alabama on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. Prior to the start of the game the Blazers will host their 25th annual Youth Clinic at West Campus Fields beginning at 4:00.
For more information on the UAB men's soccer team follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MSoc).
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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