The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Akron
Late Goal Lifts Akron Over UAB, 1-0
9/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2007
AKRON, Ohio ----- For a second straight game, the UAB men's soccer team struggled to find the back of the net, falling to Akron, 1-0, in the final game of the 2007 Westfield Insurance Cup on Sunday. The Zips scored the game-winning goal with just under nine minutes remaining in the contest.
"I felt we played poorly for a second day in a row," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "I am extremely disappointed in the coaches and the players, and if we don't get better fast, we'll be in trouble against these types of quality teams."
The Blazers drop to 0-2 with the loss; however, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. The last time UAB opened a season 0-2 came in 1999 when it began the year 0-3. That year, the Green and Gold rebounded to win 17 of its next 19 matches, capturing the Conference USA regular season and tournament championship, and reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
"The good news is we have talent to do well this season," Getman continued. "Right now, we're just not playing the way we need to play. We are not playing with confidence and we are not playing our style, therefore we're not beating good teams."
The Zips scored the game-winner in the 81st minute of the contest. Akron's Steve Zakuani took a pass down the right side of the pitch and centered the ball to Michael Nanchoff, who then fired a shot from 23 yards out. In the meantime, Zakuani made a run towards the net and redirected Nanchoff's shot past Blazer keeper Wes Johnson for the winning score.
Akron controlled possession throughout the match despite being a man down. Akron senior Elliot Bradbrook was given a red card five minutes into the contest. However Akron outshot UAB 14-7 and had seven corner kick opportunities to the Blazers' one.
UAB's Trey Gregory and Frank Brown each earned a spot on the Westfield Insurance Cup All-Tournament team.
The Blazers will return home to try and snap the two-game losing streak with a pair of games at West Campus Field over the weekend. UAB will battle Lipscomb on Friday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 p.m., and Centenary on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m. Free food will be given to any UAB student with a valid student ID who comes to the game.
