Sept. 18, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's soccer team returns to action when it competes at the Charlotte Nike Classic on Sept. 19-21. The Blazers will open play against Davidson on Friday, followed by Sunday's contest against tournament host Charlotte.

UAB enters the event with a 2-3-1 overall record. Of the Blazers' three defeats on the season, each have come against ranked opponents (No. 21 Bradley, No. 14 UIC and No. 25 Western Illinois). Senior Derek Rios, who missed the last contest with an injury, leads the Blazers with five points (2g, 1a) on the season, while junior Two-Boys Gumede has also scored a pair of goals.

UAB and Davidson will meet for the third time in series history, with the Wildcats holding a 2-0 advantage. The Wildcats enter Friday's contest with a 1-5 record on the season and are led by Machal Turner with two goals and four points on the campaign. Alex Caskey leads the team in assists (2) and is second in goals (1) and points (4).

The UAB- Charlotte game on Sunday will mark the 23rd meeting between the former Conference USA rivals. Charlotte (3-1) leads the all-time series against UAB, 12-8-2, but the Blazers have won two straight against the 49ers. Leading the way for Charlotte is senior Chris Salvaggione, who has scored a goal in each of Charlotte's first four games to lead the A-10 and the 49ers with four goals. Sophomore Andres Cuero is second on the team with three goals and eight points.

The Blazers and Wildcats will open the tournament Friday evening with a 5 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. CDT) kickoff, while UAB and Charlotte will conclude the tournament with a 2:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. CDT) start time on Sunday. All the action can be followed on Gametracker by logging onto the UABsports.com website.