2012 Men’s Soccer 2011 Season In Review Back In The NCAAs For the fifth time in the last 13 years, and sixth time overall, the UAB men’s soccer team received a bid to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. The Blazers earned the No. 11 overall seed in the event, which guaranteed a bye into the second round of the 48-team field. UAB played host to Charlotte in the second round, falling 3-1 to the 13th-ranked 49ers. It was the third NCAA Tournament game the Blazers have hosted in program history. We Are The Champions! UAB forward Babayele Sodade scored a header off a corner kick with just under two minutes remaining in regulation to lift the men’s soccer team to a 2-1 win at Tulsa on Nov. 4 in Tulsa, Okla. The victory, coupled by South Carolina’s 2-2 tie vs. Kentucky, gave the Blazers a share of the 2011 Conference USA regular season title – their first since the 1999 campaign. The Blazers finished the year with a 13-5-3 overall mark and a 6-1-1 record in league play. It marked the 16th time in head coach Mike Getman’s 20 seasons at UAB that he had led his team to at least 10 wins during a season. “I am so proud of this team,” Getman said. “All season they have fought hard for the full 90 minutes. Tonight they did it again. Now they get to live the rest of their lives as a champion!” That’s A Lot Of Wins The 2011 UAB men’s soccer team closed the campaign with 13 victories on the year (13-5-3, 6-1-1 C-USA). It marked the most victories in a season by a Blazer team since recording 15 victories during the 2011 campaign. Additionally, with six wins in Conference USA play were the most since earning seven league victories in 2004. Four Earn All-Region Honors Four UAB men’s soccer players earned a nod to the 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Midwest Region team. Three Blazers, goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski, forward Babayele Sodade and defender Mladen Lemez, were named secondteam all-region performers, while freshman defender Darion Copeland earned thirdteam recognition.
B a b ay e l e S o d a d e Copeland became the first true freshman in school history to be selected by the NSCAA as an All-Region honoree. Sodade was tabbed a second-team all-region performer for a third time, while Woszczynski earned the accolade for the second time in his career. Moreover, it is the second time in school history four UAB men’s soccer players earned all-region honors in the same season. The only other time it occurred came during the 2009 season when Two-Boys Gumede was tabbed a first-team honoree, while Curtis Ushedo, Sodade and Woszczynski were selected to the second team. Six Blazers Earn All-Conference Honors UAB forward Babayele Sodade was the lone Blazer represented on the 2011 Conference USA First Team. Sodade, who earns his first-ever first team honor, headlines a total of six UAB players who were honored on various teams by a vote of the league’s head coaches. In addition to Sodade’s recognition, goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski and defender Reed Matte were named to the second team, while defender Mladen Lemez garnered third team honors. Additionally, forward Diego Na-
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varrete and defender Darion Copeland were selected to the league’s all-freshman team. The six Blazers earning postseason accolades tied for the third-most individual postseason conference awards in a single season in program history. The record is nine individual awards which came in 2001. Back In The National Rankings On the strength of capturing a share of the 2011 Conference USA regular season title, the UAB men’s soccer team moved up in the national rankings. The Blazers were ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation in the most recent top-25 polls (Nov. 8). The Blazers are ranked unanimously in each of the four major soccer polls, with the highest ranking of No. 16 in the nation by Soccer Times and Soccer America. UAB is also ranked No. 19 by College Soccer News and No. 20 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Furthermore, the Blazers remain at No. 2 in the NSCAA Midwest Region rankings. The Blazers have now been ranked in 16 of the last 18 seasons.