The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Florida Atlantic
UAB Men's Soccer Blanks Florida Atlantic, 3-0
10/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior Karl Chester scored twice and the Blazer defense pitched its first shutout of the season as the UAB men's soccer team blanked Florida Atlantic, 3-0, Saturday night at West Campus Field.
With the win, the Green and Gold move to 5-8 overall and 2-3 in C-USA play. The Blazer defense was dominant on the back line, only allowing three Owl shots, none of which were on target.
"We had a team meeting earlier this week where we sat down and talked about goals and talked about priorities for the rest of the season," head coach Mike Getman said. "We talked about the fact that we're only potentially halfway through if we can get on a roll. We've got the regular season, plus the conference tournament, plus whatever might come after that; there could potentially be a lot of games left."
Senior Ian Svantesson continued to carry the UAB offense, notching a goal in his third-straight match. The Orlando, Fla. native punched one in early in the fifth minute to put the Blazers up 1-0.
After a scoreless remainder of the first half, Chester quickly changed that out of the halftime break, increasing the Blazers' advantage to 2-0 at the 46:46 mark. Ten minutes later sophomore Berry Sonnenschein dished one to Chester off a free kick, Chester's second score of the night and Sonnenschein's third-straight game with an assist.
"One of the priorities that the team set was to start getting shutouts," Getman added. "So, it was nice to do it after committing to the defensive effort. We gave up very few shots and very few chances to score. I'm proud of the effort all through the game, certainly very happy we got the shutout, and I thought it was a really good performance from start to finish."
UAB finished with 13 shots for eight on goal, led by three from Freddy Ruiz and Svantesson. Junior Joe Kuzminsky, in his first start back in goal in a month, got credit for the shutout.
The Blazers will return to action twice next week on the road, first up at Kentucky Wednesday night, before closing the month at Marshall on Halloween night.
The UAB men's and women's soccer teams will call BBVA Compass Field their new home, beginning with the 2016 season. The soccer-specific facility has been made possible through the generosity of BBVA Compass and other devoted donors. For construction updates and monthly photo galleries please visit UABSports.com and click on the men's or women's soccer home page.
For more information on the UAB men's soccer team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MensSoccer), on Facebook or on Instagram (@UAB_mens_soccer). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
