Friday's game celebrated the career of lone senior Sarah Morris. Photo from UABsports.comTrinity Dix - Staff Writertri915@uab.edu
The women’s soccer team fell 1-0 against conference opponent North Texas on Senior Night, Friday, Oct. 14.
The lone score in the game came from an own goal by the Blazers, a gaffe that head coach Harold Warren said that he doesn't believe defined UAB's performance on Friday night.
“I didn’t like it, but I thought we played really well. I thought we controlled the tempo of the game, We ran, unfortunately, on our own goal against us," Warren said. "It’s just a simple mistake. We just got caught and hit it in ourselves, but I thought we played well against a team that’s at the top of the table. We just need to be better in and around the goal and defend a little better, but I was pleased with our play between the 18 yard boxes. Definitely.”
“You know, it’s disappointing to watch from the sidelines,” said senior forward Sarah Morris, who sat out the game due to an injury. "But I think they played really hard and they played a good game tonight, and we couldn’t just get a result.”
When it came to where the improvements are needed in order to win games in the future, both Morris and Coach Warren agreed on where the most attention is needed: scoring goals.
“Just be a little better defensively and score goals because we can control the tempo,” Warren said. “But you got to be in both boxes, and that’s what we need to improve.”
“I think we just got to be a little better in the final third,” Morris said. “We need to find the net and score goals. I think that’s our biggest setback now.”
Despite the loss, Friday night's game was a celebration of Morris, the sole senior on the team. Morris will end her four-year soccer career at UAB and will graduate in December with a degree in political science.
Morris came to UAB from Nashville, Tenn. and has played in 52 games with the Blazers. Her career at UAB consisted of four goals and two assists, according to UABsports.com.
Her final season with the Blazers was cut short after she injured her ACL earlier this month.
“It’s really tough,” Warren said of Morris's last season with the team. “It’s always tough when you lose players you’ve had for an entire career, but, you know, her getting injured in the middle of her senior year. That was extremely difficult. But Sarah’s part of my family, the UAB family. So we’ll always be in touch.”
Although Morris watched her team lose from the sidelines, she remains "very confident" in their ability to win going forward.
“We played well tonight and I think that we’re going to make the adjustments necessary and come out and get a win (on Sunday) for sure," Morris said.
The Blazers travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. to face Southern Miss on Friday, Oct. 21. The game will kick off at 3 p.m. at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex.
