Sept. 14, 2008

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's soccer team gained a 1-0 win over cross-town foe Samford on the final day of the UAB Nike Classic tournament Sunday afternoon at West Campus Field.

The victory marked the second consecutive win for the Blazers after topping Wright State 1-0 this past Friday. UAB improves to 2-5 on the season, while Samford moves to 1-6.

"It was great to build on Friday and get this win as well," said UAB head coach Paul Harbin. "We played with more confidence today and I am pleased with the end result."

UAB and Samford played to a 0-0 tie at the half and throughout most of the second period. The Blazers scored the lone goal of the game when freshman forward Tiffini Turpin knocked in the first goal of her career during the 86th minute of the game. Turpin's goal was assisted by junior forward Danya Barsalona.

"It's a great feeling to come in here and be able to make an impact in just my first year," said Turpin. "Now that we have a few wins under our belt, we need to keep this streak going.

"I think as we keep playing, our confidence will continue to go up and we will continue to get better. It took a few games to get things going, but now we are clicking and things are working out for us."

UAB held a distinct advantage in shots, 16-11, over Samford. The Blazers recorded seven shots on goal, while the Bulldogs tallied eight.

Barsalona nabbed a game-high seven shots on the day, including five shots on goal, for the Blazers. Freshman midfielder/forward Laura McCalla had three shots and Turpin tallied two.

Samford was paced by Hilary Samuels, Leah Leppert, Tori Delmonico and Cindy Spiker with two shots each. Leppert also had a team-high two shots on goal.

Sophomore Kate Blankenship (2-3) earned the win in goal for the Blazers, grabbing seven saves and recording the shutout for UAB. Goalkeeper Cayley Winters received the loss for Samford, allowing one goal and nabbing five saves.

"Overall, I thought we played well today," said Harbin. "I would be happier if we would start finishing earlier and not wait so late in the game, but it's still a good win for us. We played two very good teams this weekend and got two nice wins.

"Whenever you play against Samford, you know they are going to be extremely well coached and well organized. With it being a cross-town rivalry, these games are always filled with a lot of emotion and heart."

UAB will return to action next Sunday when they travel to Nashville, Tenn. to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 2 p.m. CT.