The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Lipscomb
UAB Drops Match at Lipscomb 1-0
10/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Final Stats (PDF)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The UAB men’s soccer team lost 1-0 to Lipscomb on Tuesday evening. The Blazers drop to 6-4-3 this year and the Bison move to 7-5-1.
“I thought we had plenty of chances, we just didn’t hit the target,” said UAB head coach Mike Getman. “In most good soccer games, it comes down to one mistake. We made one terrible mistake where we gave the ball away and took the ball away, finished it, and that was the game. If you can’t get shots on goal, you can’t score and if you mistakes, you get punished. That was the difference in the game.”
Lipscomb had multiple opportunities within the first 12 minutes but three saves by Joe Kuzminsky and a block by the defense kept the ball out of the net in the early going. Kuzminsky would finish the first half with five saves, a season-high for him in the opening 45 minutes.
The Blazers would generate a pair of opportunities in the 17th minute from its top two goal scorers. Massimo Ferrin had the first crack at net and was denied by a save and then Henrique Sposito was unable to find the angle from near the right post.
The Bison scored nine minutes into the second half. A low cross by Logan Paynter reached Ivan Sakou in the middle of the box who tapped the ball in to take a 1-0 lead for Lipscomb.
Chances were difficult to come by for the Blazers offense as Kuzminsky continued to make saves to keep them in the contest. UAB earned a free kick in the 78th minute that Tarnue Tyler stood over. He delivered the ball to Mathieu Laurent at the far post but the defender’s header sailed over the crossbar.
Kuzminsky finished the game with nine saves. It was the second-most in a single game for the senior netminder, only behind the 10 saves he had versus Coastal Carolina.
“He has been incredibly consistent all year long,” stated Getman on Kuzminsky’s efforts. “He has been fantastic and I thought he was tonight. He made every save he could make and the goal, there wasn’t anything he could do about it.”
This was the last non-conference game of the season for UAB. The Blazers travel to South Carolina on Saturday, October 15. The Gamecocks were receiving votes in the latest NSCAA Coaches Poll and stand at 7-3-1 this year.
“We have some work to do,” said Getman. “Eliminate mistakes and get better at getting shots on goal. Those are the two things to work on.”
