The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Montevallo (Exhibition)
UAB Blanks Montevallo, 6-0, In Final Preseason Game
8/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 24, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's soccer team scored four goals in the opening 7:40 of the game, en route to a 6-0 victory over in-state rival Montevallo. The win improves the Blazers' preseason record to a perfect 7-0, which includes six victories during a preseason trip to the UK.
Leandro de Oliveira led the team with two goals, with Marin Pusek and Jerson Monteiro each accounting for a goal and an assist. Nnamdi Ngwe and Sandy Gbandi also added a goal.
"I thought we scored some great goals, but overall I thought our play was average," said UAB head coach Mike Getman. "When you score as quickly as we did, it takes some wind out of the sails for both teams. I don't know that we are truly six goals better than them.
"One of our troubles last year was scoring goals so from that perspective we had a good start. I think it was a tough, physical game for the most part, but in the first 15 minutes, I don't think they were ready for our quickness."
The Blazers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when de Oliveira struck for the first of his two goals at the 4:04 mark of the opening half. Rogerio Oliveira passed the ball to Jose Rayo who then flicked it on to a streaking de Oliveira where he deposited the ball past U of M's goalkeeper Raven Keel for the early lead.
UAB would then strike for two goals, thirty seconds apart. At the 5:16 mark, Pusek took a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box which found the head of Ngwe, who then headed the ball into the side netting. Shortly after that, Monteiro hit a pass to the feet of de Oliveira, who then buried a shot which went underneath Keel for a three-goal lead. Pusek then finished the onslaught with a goal off a direct kick from 25-yards out in the eighth minute.
UAB would continue the assault in the second half, outshooting the Falcons, 8-3, in the final 45 minutes. In the 57th minute, Monteiro took a pass at midfield, beat his defender and took the ball to goal, beating the keeper into the left side for a 5-0 lead. Gbandi would then finish the scoring in the 89th minute when he drilled a shot from 20-yards out into the upper right corner.
The regular season will begin with a trip to one of the toughest tournaments in the nation; the Indiana/Adidas Classic in Bloomington, Ind. The Blazers will open the 2003 campaign when the face No. 12 Notre Dame on Friday, August 29, at 5 p.m. UAB will then face tournament host, No. 7 Indiana on August 30, at 7:30 p.m.
"We play two top-20 teams to open the season," said Getman. "It is going to be two very big games, but the reason we scheduled these games is we want to know where we stand right away. This gives us an opportunity to show what we are capable of, but it also gives us an opportunity to see whatever weaknesses we have before we start conference play."
The Blazers will then open its home schedule with UAB La Quinta Classic on September 5-6 on West Campus Field.
