The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Takes On Marshall In Regular Season Finale
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's soccer team will face Conference USA rival Marshall in a must-win game for the Blazers on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT at West Campus Field. With a victory over the Thundering Herd coupled by an FIU loss to SMU, the Blazers would secure a spot for the 14th straight year in the upcoming C-USA Tournament.
"Obviously, the importance of this game cannot be stressed enough," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "We are in a win or go home situation for the rest of the year. Our guys have been focused and I look for them to come out and play hard. We are hoping for a big crowd to support our team Friday night."
The game will signify the last home match for UAB's seven seniors. Logan Alexander, Frank Brown, Shane Elsner, Trey Gregory, Derek Rios, Carlo Schiavoni and Mark Stachelski will each be honored prior to the start of the contest.
Friday night's game will also be Youth Night, as any youth soccer player who wears his/her game jersey to the contest will receive free admission. Furthermore, any fan that brings a canned good item will also receive free entry to the contest.
"This is just one of the ways we want to give back to the community," Getman said. "The city of Birmingham and the local soccer community has always supported us throughout the years and we wanted to give back as a way to thank them for their support."
Marshall enters the contest sporting a 3-11-1 overall record, but is 3-4 in league play. After beginning the season with an 0-10-1 mark, the Thundering Herd have captured wins in three of their last four contests coming into Friday night's showdown.
Leading the way for Marshall is Dustin Dawes, who has team-highs of four goals and nine points on the season. Michael Bolt, Kolby Lacrone and Sterling Flounder have also each scored twice for the Herd.
Goalkeeper Greg Walter comes into the contest with a 2.27 GAA, allowing 29 goals while making 51 saves. However, Walter has only allowed three goals in the Herd's last four contests.
Meanwhile, UAB will be looking to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat at FIU last weekend. The loss dropped the Blazers to 1-5-1 in league play and 5-9-3 overall.
Junior midfielder Two-Boys Gumede leads UAB's offensive attack with team-highs in goals (4) and points (10). Sophomore midfielder Kevin Sawchak enters Friday's game on a two-game goal-scoring streak and is tied with Gumede with four goals 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), while sophomore Michal Mravec has six points on a pair of goals and assists.
Junior goalkeeper Wes Johnson has started 12 games in the net for UAB. He comes into the match with a 1.15 goals allowed average, which ranks fifth in C-USA, making 44 saves while allowing just 14 goals on the campaign.
The match is free to UAB students who have a valid student ID. Additionally, students and UAB men's soccer season ticket holders are encouraged to come and enjoy free food and drinks at a pregame tailgate that will begin 90 minutes before the game (5:30 p.m. CT).
