Senior midfielder Ray Saari scored the lone goal to give Tulsa a 1-0 win over UAB on Friday night in the UAB Soccer for a Cure Classic at BBVA Compass Field in Birmingham, Ala.  TU moved to 2-1-1 on the season, while the Blazers fell to 1-2-2 overall.

 

“In the first half we possessed the ball pretty well, but we didn’t create enough good chances,” Head Coach Tom McIntosh said.  “UAB was sitting deep and were hard to break down, and we lost way too many physical challenges. In the second half we played at a faster tempo, won more physical challenges, especially in the midfield, and outshot them 13-1.  I am proud of the overall performance as it was well organized and disciplined.  I am also proud of the fact that we didn’t give up a goal even though we weren’t playing well in the first half.”

 

Saari’s goal came in the 74^th minute off a rebound attempt taken by Juan Sanchez.

 

Kay Duit had a team-best four shots, three of which were on goal, while David Viox came in off the bench and had three attempts.  Sanchez, Saari and Matthew Puig all had two attempts.  Jake McGuire logged all 90 minutes in goal, picked up two saves and earned a shutout.  McGuire now has 13 career shutouts, tying Tyrel Lacey (2005-08) for the most career shutouts (records through 1996).

 

Tulsa had a 16-9 lead in shots, including a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal, and a 5-1 lead in corner kicks.

 

Tulsa will return to action on Sunday, September 11 against Stetson in the Classic.  Game time is set for 11:30 am at BBVA Compass Field.

 

Scoring Summary

Tulsa   0          1          -           1

UAB     0          0          -           0

 

Individual Scoring

Ray Saari (Tulsa) at 73:35 (Juan Sanchez)

 

Goalkeeper Saves

Jake McGuire (Tulsa) – 2

Joe Kuzminsky (UAB) – 6

 

-TulsaHurricane.com-