PHOTOS
HUNTSVILLE | A record throng of more than 1,000 turned out to Charger Park on Friday night, but it was West Alabama who won the contest that decided the regular season men's soccer conference champion, knocking off host UAH by a 1-0 score. The Chargers slip to 10-5-0 (7-2-0 Gulf South Conference), while UWA improves to 8-6-2 (7-1-1 GSC).
 
Both UWA and UAH earn byes at the upcoming GSC Championships as West Alabama will be the No. 1 seed and host while the Chargers will be the No. 2 seed.
 
UAH will face the winner of No. 3 seed Lee and No. 6 seed West Florida next Friday in Livingston.
 
The lone goal in Friday night's contest came in the 15th minute when Liam Ireland scored an unassisted marker as the visitors outshot UAH 7-6 in the opening half.
 
One of UAH's shots nearly tied the contest, however, as Jordan Wright's header in the 32nd minute would carom off the crossbar, keeping the Tigers in front by the 1-0 score heading into the halftime break.
 
Wright led UAH with four of the team's 11 shots as a 5-2 advantage in the second 45 minutes for the Chargers led to a 11-9 edge in shots for the hosts overall in the contest, and Wright had a pair of headers – one in the 75th and another in the 88th – that again almost proved to be the equalizer.
 
UAH earned six corners in the second half to hold a 8-4 lead in that statistical category.
 
Prior to the game, the Chargers honored their seniors who were playing their final game on the Charger Park pitch. During the group's tenure in Huntsville, the squad has reached the GSC tournament in three straight seasons while collecting 33 wins over that same time span.