Junior midfielder Ryan Sullivan dribbles the ball down field during the game against Howard. Photo by Ian KeelJack Ryan - Staff Writerjackryan@uab.edu
The men's soccer team defeated the Howard Bison 3-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 27, improving the Blazers' overall record to 4-3-3.
By the end of the first half, the game remained scoreless; however, the second half gave UAB several opportunities to score.
"Part of what we’re trying to do as a team is to make other teams chase us as much as possible. If we can keep the ball moving and make them defend for long periods of time, it gets very tiring.
Sometimes making a team defend in the first half does create opportunities in the second half. If you look at most of the games this season, that has happened. Our possession early in the game leads to us scoring goals late in the game," head coach Mike Getman said. "It wears them down, plain and simple. It’s a big field out there and to defend and cover that much space for 90 minutes is really hard. It’s a little easier to play when in possession than when defending. Our hope is that we can control the possession and that eventually it will create chances.”
The first goal of the second half came off of a one-timer shot from Philip Makinde, with an assist from Ryan Sullivan. The second goal was scored off a penalty kick from a take down in the box of Andrew Nkpolukwu. The physicality of substitutes like Nkpolukwu has played a big part in the offense, especially in the second half.
"Andrew is a unique player because he is big, but also athletic and skillful. There aren’t many guys like that. As teams get tired, he has been very effective late in the game. Against Xavier, he scored a goal late that led to us winning the game. Against Howard, his size and power created the penalty kick that became the second goal," Getman said. "As players get tired, they get matched up with this beast of a man and the only way they can stop him sometimes is to foul him. He is a big, physical player and it’s hard to play against that for 90 minutes. But he is also a skillful player that can help us keep possession, which he does extremely well. It’s not just that he is a physical powerhouse but he has the skills to play as well. He is a great combination of skill, physical ability, and power.”
Something else of note from Tuesday night's performance was UAB's defense and goalkeeping.
"It’s a two-way street. The defending has been good which allows a goalkeeper to feel confident and play well. Because the goalkeeping has been good, it allows our defenders to play well and know that if they do make a mistake, they have somebody behind them," Getman said. "I was pleased Julian (Mehl) got a chance to play. He is a terrific goalkeeper who needed an opportunity to show what he could do and he played well,” Getman said. "I wouldn’t say there is anything from that game that we really have to improve upon. Just getting people healthy and back on the field. We started the match without four starters. At times you could see the fatigue because we did not have the depth we normally have. Hopefully we can get those guys back on the field quickly. This team has been successful because this team is deep and we have been able to make the substitutions we need to make."
The Blazers continue home play against Santa Clara on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m at BBVA Compass Field.
