Oct. 10, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Fresh off an impressive 4-1 victory over regionally-ranked Alabama A&M on Wednesday, the UAB men's soccer team will return to Conference USA play Saturday night when it takes on the UCF Knights at 7 p.m. in Orlando, Fla. The Blazers have never lost to the Knights, holding a 2-0-1 record in the all-time series.

The Blazers enter the contest sporting a 4-5-2 overall record, and are 1-1 in league play. Of UAB's five losses, each has come against opponents ranked in the top-25 at some point this season (four of which are currently ranked), and all five defeats have been by one goal.

Leading the way will be senior Derek Rios and junior Two-Boys Gumede, who have each compiled eight points on three goals and two assists. Senior Shane Elsner and sophomores Michal Mravec and Kevin Sawchak have also contributed two goals each, as the Blazers have outscored their opponents 15-13 this season.

Junior goalkeeper Wes Johnson has a 0.87 GAA this season in seven contests, allowing six goals in seven games and making 23 saves.

UCF (5-5, 2-1 C-USA) is coming off its first conference loss of the season, dropping a 2-1 decision to the visiting FIU Golden Panthers on Wednesday night. Despite the loss, the Knights find themselves in second place with a 2-1 league mark, just one game and three points back of league-leading and 20th-ranked Tulsa, which has a 3-0 record.

Freshman Kevan George paces the squad with four goals on the campaign, while sophomore Yaron Bacher has fired a team-high 29 shots and leads the team with three assists on the year. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson has played every minute in the net for the Knights and has a 1.47 GAA, collecting 56 saves and allowing 15 goals in UCF's 10 contests this year.

Saturday's contest is schedule to kick off at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) and can be followed live on Gametracker by logging on to UABsports.com.