TULSA, Okla. – The No. 13 UAB men’s soccer team (10-2-1, 4-2-1) scored two second-half goals to take a 2-1 victory against Conference USA foe Tulsa (7-5-1, 2-3-0) on Saturday night. Senior midfielder Moses Adeniran tallied the game-winner in 83rd minute.

“I thought we played well right from the start of this match,” head coach Mike Getman said. “We were a little unlucky to give up a goal. We made one mistake and they scored a nice goal. We played a great game from start to finish. Our guys did a nice job of keeping their composure and executing the game plan.”

The Blazers found themselves in an early hole. Tulsa sophomore forward Cristian Mata, Conference USA’s leading scorer, chipped a ball over UAB senior goalkeeper Raphael Ville in the 12th minute to give the host-Golden Hurricane a 1-0 advantage.

For the remainder of the opening half, UAB looked to knot the match. In the 37th minute, Tulsa’s Mata was thinking otherwise, sending a shot towards net, looking for his second goal of the night. Ville made a diving save, keeping the Blazers in the match.

UAB’s best opportunity of the half came in the 42nd minute when Adeniran had a one-on-one with the Tulsa keeper. Adeniran sent the ball just wide of the goal and the Blazers went into halftime trailing the hosts by one goal.

Out of the break, the Blazers continued to search for the equalizer. Freshman forward Rami Dajani would answer the call, scoring the game-tying goal in the 61st minute. Dajani collected a cross from Chester and buried it in the lower right corner, tying the match at 1-1.

The team was not satisfied with just tying the match and looked to push ahead in the remaining minutes of regulation. Ville came up big for the Blazers in that stretch, collecting four saves to keep the visitors in it. In the 83rd minute, UAB was finally able to break through.

Redshirt senior midfielder Fatai Alabi chipped a pass to Adeniran on the right side of the pitch. Adeniran collected the pass and sent a shot towards the Tulsa goal. The Golden Hurricane goalkeeper dove for the attempt, but to no avail, and the Blazers secured a 2-1 road victory.

“I had to finish it,” stated Adeniran. “I had to make up for my miss in the first half. I had to make my team proud and put it in the back of the net. Thank God it went in.”

The UAB men’s soccer team will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 25 when it hosts the College of Charleston in its final non-conference of the regular season. The match is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at West Campus Field.

Notes: Senior midfielder Moses Adeniran scored his first goal of the year … It marked his first since 2011, as well … Freshman forward Rami Dajani tallied his fourth goal of the season at Tulsa … Redshirt senior midfielder Fatai Alabi and redshirt sophomore forward Karl Chester each had their first points of the year … Senior goalkeeper Raphael Ville recorded five saves on the night, matching his season-best … For the first time in 2013, the UAB men’s soccer team trailed at halftime.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13