BOCA RATON, Fla. – Lexxe Lipsey’s goal in the 28th minute was all the scoring West Division No. 3 seed UAB needed in its 1-0 victory over East Division No. 2 seed WKU in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Conference USA Championship on Wednesday evening.
With the victory, UAB (7-8-3) advances to the semifinal round for the first time since 2009. WKU finishes its season 10-5-1.
The game-winner started with Lipsey taking the ball at center circle and dribbling past a pair of Lady Toppers. Her left footed blast from the top of the penalty arc found the back of the net past Alexis Bach.
Blazers keeper Eve Beyer made a pair of saves in recording her second clean sheet in her last four matches.
Laura Zemberyova took half of the Blazers’ six shots.
“I’ve said this every single time we’ve won a hard game, but I’m so proud of our girls,” said head coach Erica Demers. “This win goes beyond this team. It feels so good to get over the hump and this team finally did and I’m so proud of them.”
The Blazers will take on the winner of West Division No. 1 seed Southern Miss and East Division No. 4 seed Florida Atlantic. The match will be on Nov. 5 with a 6 p.m. (CT)/7 p.m. (ET) kickoff and will stream on ESPN+.
NOTES
- The last outright victory for UAB in the Conference USA Championship was in the 2006 finals against Colorado College when the Blazers won its third league title
- The Blazers last advanced to the Conference USA Championship semifinals in 2009 after defeating UTEP in PKs
- Five of UAB’s seven all-time wins in the Conference USA Championship have come as a lower seed
- This was Lipsey’s first game-winner as a Blazer
- Beyer recorded her seventh career shutout
For more information on the UAB women’s soccer team, follow @UAB_WSoc on Twitter and Instagram.
