The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Soccer Faces Charlotte In C-USA Semifinals
11/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 12, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 23rd-ranked UAB men's soccer team faces Charlotte at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament at Cardinal Park. The Blazers, who earned a first round tournament bye after a second place finish in the regular season, face the sixth-seeded 49ers who won Friday afternoon's quarterfinals match up with Cincinnati by a 2-0 score.
The league tournament was delayed a day by record rains in Louisville on Thursday. Saturday's semifinals pit Memphis gainst Saint Louis at 12 p.m. (CT) and UAB against the 49ers at 2:30 p.m. (CT).
UAB (11-6-0, 7-2-0 C-USA) could be considered a favorite in the match by virtue of their higher seed and regular season standing, or via their 4-1 regular season victory over Charlotte in Birmingham on Sept. 18. But in the postseason, favorites going in aren't always the victors coming out.
"This is the postseason," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "Anyone can beat anyone. Soccer is one of those games that conditions, conditioning, style of play, injuries, or even strategies by either team can vastly change the outcome. We have to play championship soccer every match out there or we won't stay around long."
The Blazers will have the benefit of seven days rest and the fact that Charlotte (11-6-1, 5-4-0) played the day before. UAB will also have the benefit of First Team All-Conference midfielder Leandro de Oliveira, who leads the Blazers in scoring with five goals and eight assists on the season, and First Team All-Conference defender Sandy Gbandi, who has led UAB to seven shutouts this year.
Should UAB win the Saturday semifinal, it's on to Sunday's championship game and the winner of the Memphis-Saint Louis semifinal. The 1 p.m. CT kickoff for the title can be seen live on College Sports Television.
