Nov. 7, 2008

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior forward Derek Rios scored two goals and junior goalkeeper Wes Johnson collected his second shutout of the season to lead the UAB men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Marshall on Senior Night at West Campus Field. With the win, coupled by a Florida International loss at home to SMU, the Blazers secured a spot in the 2008 Conference USA Tournament, marking the 14th straight year UAB has qualified for the event.

"We played quite well tonight," UAB head coach Mike Getman. "I thought we competed very hard in what turned out to be the biggest game of the year. But a sign of a good team is to get the job done when it's on the line and that's exactly what we did tonight.

"It meant a lot for us to get this win for our seven seniors," Getman continued. "Our seniors played their last game on West Campus Field and as a team we wanted to make sure they walked off with a smile on their face."

The Blazers (6-9-3, 2-5-1 C-USA) pressured the Thundering Herd from the opening kick off. Senior Frank Brown almost gave his team an early lead when he struck the crossbar on UAB's first shot just six minutes into the match.

Just a short time later, at the 10:16 mark, a pair of seniors hooked up to give the Blazers an early 1-0 lead. Rios received a pass from senior defender Mark Stachelski, who made his first career start. The Etibicoke, Ontario native then put a nifty topspin shot over the Marshall goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give his team a one-goal advantage. It marked Rios' third game-winning goal of the season.

UAB would strike again just prior to halftime as freshman midfielder Andrew Barsalona scored his first career goal at the 41:16 mark. Sophomore Anthony King set up the goal when he made a touch pass to Barsalona, who then deposited a shot into the lower right side from 18-yards out for a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The Blazers would continue the pressure into the second half as Rios added another goal just over five minutes in, off a double assist from Brown and King. Brown sent a low cross into the box, which found King. King then hit a one-touch pass to Rios, who then buried the shot into an open net for his sixth goal of the season.

Johnson would take care of the rest, as he made three saves and secured his second shutout of the season. The Lilburn, Ga. native now has eight shutouts in his career, which moves him into a tie for second on the school's all-time list. Marshall's two goalkeepers combined to make seven saves on the night in the loss.

UAB outshot Marshall (3-12-1, 3-5) by a count of 16-9 and held a 10-3 shots-on-goal advantage. The Blazers also had five corner kicks, compared to just two by the Thundering Herd.

The Blazers will next play the tournament's top seed and No. 7-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the opening round of the C-USA Tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Earlier this season, UAB dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Tulsa back on Oct. 4 in a tightly contested game at West Campus Field.

"Tulsa is a great team and we are looking forward to playing them," Getman said. "We lost in overtime to them at our place earlier this season. Our guys will be focused and ready to play. Tulsa is the No. 7 team in the nation and have won a bunch of games in a row, so it's going to be a great challenge, but it will be a challenge we are ready for."

The game time will be announced at a later date.