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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freddy Ruiz scored twice and added an assist as the UAB Blazers handed the Vermont men's soccer team its first loss of the year, posting a 4-1 victory in the Soccer for a Cure Tournament.
Vermont falls to 4-1, while the Blazers improve to 3-2 overall. Both teams entered the match receiving votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Division I National Poll.
"We didn't meet the standard tonight," said Vermont head coach
Jesse Cormier. "UAB played at a higher level, a quicker tempo. We didn't do enough in the game, we didn't make enough plays and being down a player obviously hurt. We need to reach a higher standard to get the points and results we want."
Ruiz quickly got the Blazers on the scoreboard, scoring his second goal of the season in the 10th minute.
Vermont answered nine minutes later.
Brian Wright notched his fourth tally of the year to even the score at 1-1.
In the 32nd minute, Vermont's
Luke Salmon was issued a red card for stopping a potential goal on the goal line with his shoulder. Alex Clay stepped up to convert the resulting penalty kick and the Blazers took the 2-1 advantage into the half.
The Catamounts, who played a man down for 58 minutes and the second time in three games, fell behind 3-1 in the opening minute of the second half. UAB's Aaron Pickering-Getman converted assists from Ruiz and David Valverde to give the Blazers a two-goal lead.
Ruiz added his second goal of the match in the 62nd minute to push UAB's advantage to 4-1.
Conor Leland was credited with four saves for Vermont, while Joe Kuzminsky did not have to register a save to earn the win in the UAB net.
Vermont faces Jacksonville on Sunday (Sept. 14) at 1 p.m. (EST) on the final day of the tournament. The Dolphins fell 3-0 to Dayton in the opening game of the tournament.
NOTES: The match was delayed nearly two hours due to lightning in the area. The first game between Dayton and Jacksonville was schedlued to kickoff at 4:#0 p.m. (central time), but did not start until 7 p.m.
local time.
