BIRMINGHAM –The UAB men’s soccer team will look to build off its overtime victory at Ohio State with a pair of home matches at BBVA Field. The Blazers will face UTRGV on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing out this weekend’s Soccer For The Cure tournament on Sunday at 5 p.m. against Central Arkansas.
UAB, UTRGV, Central Arkansas and Elon will comprise this weekend’s four-team tournament in Birmingham. Elon and Central Arkansas will kick off the tournament on Friday at 4 p.m.
Fans will be able to follow all four of this weekend’s matches via live stats, including matchups not featuring the Blazers. UAB’s matches against UTRGV and Central Arkansas will both stream live on CUSA.tv.
THE SERIES VS. UTRGV
Friday’s matchup between the Blazers and Vaqueros will be the first in the teams’ history.
SCOUTING UTRGV
UTRGV opened the 2021 season with back-to-back one-goal defeats, falling 4-3 to Central Arkansas in the season opener and 4-3 to Oral Roberts on Sunday. Junior forward Reshaun Walkes, who has already scored a team-high three goals this season, was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team on Aug. 17. Walkes is joined on the scoresheet by graduate midfielder Yusuf Cueceoglu, who netted the Vaqueros lone goal in the defeat at Oral Roberts.
Head coach Bryheem Hancock enters his second season in charge of the UTRGV program. The former Radford University head coach led the Vaqueros to a top-25 ranking and earned the second seed in the WAC Tournament this past season.
UTRGV was selected fifth in the 2021 WAC Preseason Poll, ranking just outside of the top three of Grand Canyon, Seattle and San Jose State. The Vaqueros finished 6-2-2 in 2020-21 with a 6-1-2 conference record.
COMMON OPPONENTS
The teams have three common opponents this season – Central Arkansas, Florida Atlantic and FIU.
THE SERIES VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
The Blazers hold a 3-0-0 all-time record against the Bears, adding yet another one-goal victory to their tally with a 3-2 win over Central Arkansas to kick off the 2020-21 season. Senior midfielder Joseph Buete bagged the game-winner in overtime a season ago, securing his first-career brace and a win for the Blazers in Conway, Arkansas.
UAB’s other two wins over the Bears came by a score of 2-1 in 2009 and 2017.
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Central Arkansas opened the season 2-0 with a pair of one-goal home victories over UTRGV and Belmont. Senior defender Vicent Abaso slotted home two goals over his first two matches to earn ASUN Player of the Week honors. The Bears were predicted seventh in the 2021 ASUN Preseason Poll with senior defender Alberto Suarez being named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Head coach Frank Kohlenstein’s team went 6-9-2 in 2020-21 with all nine of his team’s losses coming by just a single goal. UCA went 3-3 in conference in its final year as a member of the Sun Belt.
COMMON OPPONENTS
The teams share two common opponents this season – UTRGV and Memphis.
LIVE STREAMING
UAB’s matches against UTRGV and Central Arkansas will both stream live on CUSA.tv.
LIVE STATS
Fans from all four teams in this weekend’s tournament can follow along through Sidearm Stats.
Men’s Soccer season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2021-22 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2021-22 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
Individual match tickets can be purchased here.
For more information on the UAB men’s soccer team, follow @UAB_MSoc on Twitter and Instagram.
