Oct. 12, 2007

Florida International Game Notes

Birmingham, Ala. ----- The UAB men's soccer team will be looking for its first Conference USA victory of the season when the Blazers host the Florida International Panthers at West Campus Field. The game will begin at 2 p.m. CT and will be part of the homecoming festivities, capped off by the UAB/Tulane football game at 6 p.m. at Legion Field.

"This is an important game for us," UAB head coach Mike Getman said. "We have been battling injuries and all sorts of things this season. FIU has had some struggles but their record is a little deceiving. They are a good team under a new coach who has played a tough schedule. This would be a great way to start homecoming weekend if we can pull a win on Saturday afternoon."

UAB enters this Saturday afternoon's contest with a 5-5-1 overall record and an 0-2 record in league play. The last time the Blazers opened the conference season without a victory through two league contests came back during the 1992 campaign, coach Getman's first season at the helm, when they finished 0-5.

Prior to its winless skid over the last four contests (0-3-1), UAB put together a five-game winning streak beginning Sept 7, and capped off by a victory at then-No. 10 Indiana on Sept. 21. UAB is now 5-3-1 over its last nine contests.

The Blazers are led by MAC Hermann Trophy candidate junior Dejan Jakovic. The Etibicoke, Ontario native is living up to his billing as one of the top players in the country, leading his team in goals (6) and points (13) on the season. Meanwhile, junior Frank Brown is also making his presence felt, as the Preston, England native is second on the team with four goals and 10 points. The Blazers are 4-0 when Jakovic finds the back of the net this season, and 2-0 when the two leading scorers account for a goal in the same game.

Defensively, goalkeeper Wes Johnson, a two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, leads the Blazers. Johnson has recorded three shutouts and an impressive 0.93 goals allowed average this season.

Meanwhile, Florida International snapped a program-worst 14-game winless streak when it upended the UCF Knights, 3-2, last Wednesday night in Miami, Fla. The Golden Panthers battled to overcome two UCF leads en route to picking up win number one under new head coach Munga Eketebi.

FIU is led on the year by freshman forward Steven Cabas, who has accounted for a team-leading three goals and seven points on the campaign (3g, 1a). Meanwhile, sophomore forward Juan Guerra has scored two goals on five points (2g, 1a) on the season. The duo have combined for five of FIU's nine goals and two of the team's three assists on the year. Junior goalkeeper Kyle Thomas minds the net for the Golden Panthers, and has allowed and average of 1.31 goals per contest.

All students who bring a presents a valid student ID at the gate will receive free food at the game. The contest can be followed live on gametracker.