HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Looking to win its first Gulf South Conference Tournament championship since 1997, the No. 2-seed UAH men's soccer team will open postseason play against third-seeded West Florida on Friday afternoon at 4:30 at Brosnaham Park in Pensacola, Fla.
The two teams met in the semifinals last year, and West Florida eliminated the Chargers with a 5-0 victory. In fact, UAH's previous three losses in the tournament have been to the Argos including a 2-0 loss in the championships game in 2009.
Of active GSC members, Friday's contest features the only two sides to register multiple titles as UWF boasts eight while the Chargers own a pair.
The two teams met just this past Sunday in Huntsville, appearing to be headed for a 0-0 draw until
Ragnar Gunnarsson buried a penalty kick in the 109th minute to give UAH the win.
Gunnarsson was one of five Chargers selected to the All-GSC teams that were announced on Wednesday, joining
Jarrod Muggleton and Felix Hjlamarsson on the First Team while
Oscar Leon and
Kyle Simmons garnered Second-Team honors.
Hjlamarsson and Simmons have keyed an impressive offensive turnaround for the Chargers as the squad went from scoring 16 goals a season ago to having the 19th-best offensive in the land this year as the team is averaging 2.47 goals per game having scored a total of 37. The two forwards alone have combined to score more times than last year's squad as Simmons leads the way with 13 while Hjalmarsson owns 10 strikes.
The team has also been strong defensively, setting a new school record with eight shutouts on the season to put them 12th in the country with a shutout percentage of 0.53.
Kel Markert has been strong in goal for the Chargers, putting together a goals against average of 1.24 and a .765 save percentage.
UWF put five players on the All-GSC teams, and defender Sean Reynolds garnered the Player of the Year award.
Live video and stats for the contest will be available at the GSC's tournament homepage found by clicking here. Fans are encouraged to follow the Lady Chargers on Facebook (facebook.com/uahchargers) and on Twitter (@uahchargers).
