The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Soccer Set To Take On South Carolina
10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's soccer team is set to take on South Carolina on Wednesday night in what will be the first of three crucial Conference USA matches to end the 2008 regular season. The Blazers and Gamecocks are set to do battle on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET in Columbia, S.C.
The Blazers enter Wednesday's contest coming off a 1-0 non-conference win over SIU-Edwardsville Saturday night. The victory snapped the Blazers' three-game losing streak and improved them to 5-8-2 overall on the year.
Leading the way for UAB is junior midfielder Two-Boys Gumede, who holds the team lead in goals (4) and points (10) on the campaign. Senior forward Derek Rios, who has missed five games with a variety of injuries this season, is second on the team with eight points (3g, 2a). Senior midfielder Carlo Schiavoni has a team-leading three assists on the year.
Junior goalkeeper Wes Johnson has started 10 games in the net for UAB. He comes into Wednesday's match with a 1.10 goals allowed average, which ranks fifth in C-USA, making 35 saves while allowing just 11 goals on the campaign.
South Carolina enters the contest sporting a 7-5-2 overall mark and a 2-2-1 record in conference play. The Gamecocks are coming off a 1-0 victory at Marshall last Saturday, which snapped a three-game winless streak in league play.
Sophomore forward Sam Arthur, who scored the game-winning goal against the Thundering Herd, leads the team with 11 goals and 25 points on the campaign (11g, 3a). Not only do his numbers lead the Gamecocks, but Arthur also leads Conference USA in goals, points and game-winning goals (6). Sophomore forward Blake Brettschneider ranks second on the team with 10 points (4g, 2a) on the season.
South Carolina goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer is the centerpiece of the Gamecock defense, recording seven shutouts, which leads the league. He also ranks second in goals against average (0.83) and saves per game (4.79). As a team, the Gamecocks rank tied for 25th in the nation with a 0.50 shutout percentage.
The contest can be followed live on Gametracker by logging onto the UABsports.com website.
