The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Old Dominion
Blazers Fall to No. 16 Old Dominion 3-1
9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
NORFOLK, Va. - A positive response in the second half and a late Blazer goal wasn't enough as the UAB's men's soccer team fell to No. 16 Old Dominion, 3-1, Friday night at the ODU Soccer Complex.
"I thought in the first half I did the worst job I can remember doing in the past 20 years," head coach Mike Getman said following the match. "I thought I had it all wrong and it cost us the game. At halftime we figured it out, our guys played so hard and so well and we took it to them for 45 minutes. If we can play like that, I don't know that we'll lose another game this season."
The Monarchs (5-1-1, 1-0-1 C-USA) kicked its offense into gear early, striking three times in the opening 45 minutes. Ian Svantesson punched one in for the Blazers (3-6-0, 0-2-0 C-USA) in the 80th minute, his third of the season, giving the Green and Gold life late in the match.
"In the first half I just did a miserable job of having us organized and prepared and the game was done at halftime," Getman said. "We talked about things and sorted things out and talked about winning each minute of the second half one at a time. Unfortunately my poor decisions put us in a position where it was going to be tough to score three goals against the No. 16 team in the country."
UAB surrendered a goal in the sixth minute when ODU's Niko Klosterhalfen punched in a goal off a rebound from a previous shot that hit the post.
Jesse Miralrio collected a loose ball in the box in the 19th minute to push the advantage to 2-0, before adding his second of the night in the 34th minute.
UAB put eight of its 11 shots on goal, led by three each from Svantesson and Freddy Ruiz. The Monarchs took 12 shots for six on goal.
Hunter Weber entered in goal in the second period for the Blazers and played all 45 minutes with one save.
"I couldn't be more pleased with how hard the guys worked and how well they played and how we dominated the second half," Getman added. "Hopefully if I can get it right in the future this team can win a lot of games."
The Blazers return to the pitch Tuesday at Georgia State in Atlanta.
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).
