MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's soccer team will play in the title game of the 2017 Gulf South Conference Men's Soccer Championships on Sunday, as the second-seeded Chargers will battle top-seeded West Alabama at noon at the Emory Folmar YMCA complex.
Â
UAH enters the match at 9-6-2, while UWA is 15-2-0 and is ranked No. 11 in the national rankings.
Â
For the Chargers, Sunday's appearance in the championship game is the program's fifth overall and first since 2009. UAH has two championships in school history, coming in back-to-back years in 1996 and 1997.
Â
UAH advanced to Sunday after a thrilling victory on Friday afternoon as
Jordan Wright scored with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to break a scoreless draw with Mississippi College, while UWA reached the game thanks to a 1-0 win over Montevallo.
Â
Wright is now level with
Corentin Diverres for the team lead in scoring as both have 25 points, and Wright's score was his team-high 11th of the season.
Â
The 25 points for Wright and Diverres and the 11 goals for Wright both are the top marks in the GSC.
Â
The Chargers and Tigers met just last week on the final day of the regular season for UAH, and West Alabama was a 1-0 winner as Ali Brador scored in the 88th minute.
Â
With its seed in the tournament solidified heading into the match, UAH did not utilize several key players including the all-conference selection Diverres and defender
Ethan Wilson, while Wright played just 15 minutes.
Â
The two programs have met twice before in the GSC tournament with the Tigers winning in the semifinals in 2013 by a 2-0 score, and the two teams met again in the semis in 2014, playing to a 1-1 draw with West Alabama advancing 6-5 in penalty kicks.
Â
In addition to the conference championship that is on the line on Sunday, the winner of the match will also receive the GSC's automatic qualifier spot in the upcoming NCAA South Regional.
Â
