Oct. 18, 2007

SMU/Tulsa Game Notes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's soccer team is returning home after spending over a month on the road, playing host to SMU and Tulsa in a pair of Conference USA matches this weekend at West Campus Field.

UAB (5-6-1, 1-2-0 C-USA) is coming off its first league win at Houston last Sunday, 5-0, and is facing a pair of teams that it has yet to defeat in program history. Twelfth-year head coach Paul Harbin will lead the Blazers into battle, posting a 115-104-14 record at UAB and a 152-130-16 career mark.

On the field, UAB is paced by sophomore Danya Barsalona with five goals this season, which rank ninth in C-USA. Senior Sally Palmer scored a pair of goals in the Blazers' win over Houston to elevate her season total to four. Freshman Justine Hartigan has scored three times this year, while senior Jill Porto has found the back of the net on two occasions.

The Blazers and SMU (5-5-1, 1-3-0 C-USA) will square off at 7:00 p.m. Friday. The game will mark the third meeting between the two squads, with the Mustangs holding the all-time series advantage, 2-0. The last meeting resulted in a 4-0 victory for SMU on Oct. 28, 2005 in Dallas, Texas.

The Mustangs are guided by first-year head coach Brent Erwin and have lost their last three matches, most recently falling to UCF, 5-0, last Sunday. SMU's offense is led by Kim Peabody and Kristin Medeiros with three goals each this season, followed by three other Mustangs with two goals apiece.

On Sunday, UAB will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3-10-1, 1-3-0 C-USA), with kick off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Tulsa leads the all-time series, 2-0, including a 2-0 win on Oct. 30, 2005 in Tulsa, Okla.

At the helm of the Golden Hurricane is fourth-year head coach Rena Richardson, who has a 26-40-8 record during her tenure at TU and a 54-105-13 career record. Leading Tulsa this season with two goals is Jennifer Kacergis, while five others have one goal each.

Both of UAB's matches will serve as Youth Soccer Weekend. All youth who wear their soccer jerseys to the games will be admitted for free.

In addition, all UAB students who present a valid student ID at the gate will receive free admission and free food at the game, while also being eligible for various giveaways. Both games can be followed live on Gametracker.