UAB Men’s Soccer Falls in Opening Exhibition Match

Saturday, August 12

BBVA Compass Field

6:00 PM

UAB

Clemson (Exh.)

UAB Men’s Soccer Falls in Opening Exhibition Match

8/12/2017 9:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer

BOX SCORE

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's soccer team suffered a 3-0 loss to preseason No. 5 Clemson Saturday night at BBVA Compass Field.

Clemson took an early lead at 6:01 mark with a Harrison Kurtz shot from inside the box that found the back of the net. The Tigers tacked on their second goal just 49 seconds later when Jason Wright netted one off of a pass from Alex Hemmingsen.

The Tigers scored their third and final goal in the third period when Kurtz drilled his second goal of the night on a penalty kick in the third period.

"I was a little disappointed with the result but I thought for good portions of the game we played quite well against a great team," head coach Mike Getman said. "They've been in the top-five the last few years, we knew it was going to be a challenge, but I thought our guys really stood up to the battle. Take away the first 10 minutes when they were just better than we were and it was a pretty even game. They showed us some of the things we need to work on which is why we wanted to play a team like this but I thought there were moments when we were very good. We hit one off of the bar, their keeper made two or three great saves and if anyone of those goes in I think it gets really interesting down the stretch. In preseason I thought it was exactly what we wanted. We got a chance to challenge one of the best teams in the country and see what our strengths are and what we need to work on. Overall I was pretty happy."

UAB's best chance came in the third period when Adam Brooker drilled one of the crossbar narrowly escaping the reach of the Clemson keeper.

Despite the goals, both UAB keepers combined for solid games racking up nine saves. Julian Mehl started the game before James Teal came in in relief midway through the second period.

A total of 21 Blazers saw action tonight including Teal, Gael Mabiala, Aidan O'Hara, Joseph Buete and Brooks Stockley who all made their unofficial debut for the Green and Gold.

UAB returns to the pitch Saturday night when it takes on West Alabama at BBVA Compass Field. The two teams are set for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

"West Alabama will be another opportunity for us to continue getting better," Getman said. "We have a week to work on things, hopefully we can fix some of the mistakes we made tonight, and then we get to play another really good team and see if we're ready for the season."

Prior Saturday's matchup with the Tigers, the Blazers will host their 25th annual Youth Clinic beginning at 4:30 pm on West Campus Field.

For more information on the UAB men's soccer team follow the Blazers on Twitter and Instagram (@UAB_MSoc).