Oct. 29, 2009

Box Score

 Final Stats

 Memphis, Tenn. - UAB Blazer Carolyn Polcari connected on her first two goals of the season sending UAB past the Memphis Tigers on Thursday night at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

"I'm extremely disappointed because I thought we played extremely well in the first half," said Head Coach Brooks Monaghan. "Our mentality was not there (in the second half). We talked to them in halftime how UAB is usually a second-half team. We wanted to come out with the same mentality (as the first half) and pick it up a notch. It's disappointing because we didn't do that and we let them back into the game because of our mentality. The game changed (in the second half). We had plenty of chances to put the game away and we didn't. It's really disappointing. This is a really tough one. When you just don't feel that our team mentality was there, that is hard to swallow. We didn't deserve to win today. We didn't play together for 90 minutes. If we would have played together for 90 minutes, if we would have been consistent in the second half, we would have won this game."

With the loss, Memphis falls to 13-6-0 on the season and 8-3-0 in C-USA play. UAB improves to 11-6-2 and 5-4-2 in C-USA play. The C-USA Tournament begins on Wed. Nov. 4^th with seeding to be determined after C-USA action is completed on Friday. The Lady Tigers can finish no worse than the third seed and could be the two seed with a UTEP and Colorado College tie tomorrow night.

"I'm not even worried about that," Monaghan said. "The bottom line is that we just have to be ready to play. Our biggest enemy is ourself right now. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. It isn't necessarily the soccer-specific stuff. It is more of the mental stuff. Does this team want it? If you want it we have to go get it. It (a win) isn't going to just come to us."

Senior midfielder Brittany Baldwin connected on her first goal of the 2009 season that gave Memphis the 1-0 lead in the first half. The Collierville, Tenn. Native, registered her fourth career goal with the help of freshman forward Averi Hallman's serve from the right side of the net to the middle of the field. Hallman was credited with her team-leading seventh assist of her freshman season.

"I'm extremely happy for (Brittany Baldwin) to get that goal," Monaghan said. 'She is going to remember that for the rest of her life. At the same time I'm disappointed for the seniors because they are going to remember this game for the rest of their lives. It is just really tough to end somebody's career with a loss like that."

Memphis went into the dressing room with 14 shots compared to UAB's two shots.

The Blazers tied the match in the 72^nd minute with a Polcari's first goal of the season. Polcari scored from five yards out after Laura McCalla fed the ball to the middle. McCalla registered the assist on the game-tying goal.

UAB finished the second period with five shots compared to Memphis' three.                      

The two teams battled for the remaining 18 minutes of regulation before playing the first overtime period. Polcari scored her second goal of the contest in the fifth minute of overtime to clinch UAB's bid into the C-USA Tournament next week.

"The number one thing is to just make sure our mentality is where it needs to be," Monaghan said. "That is our biggest thing. It takes a strong mentality to be able to win a championship and we have a long way to go with that."

The Lady Tigers will return to action at the C-USA Tournament on Wed. Nov. 4^th if the Lady Tigers are the three seed or Friday Nov. 6^th if the Lady Tigers are the two seed. For more information on the C-USA Tournament visit www.conferenceusa.com.