GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS/VIDEO
November 7, 2015
LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The No. 6 seeded University of West Florida men's soccer team is gearing up to play No. 1 seed West Alabama on Sunday, as the Argos face a 2013 Gulf South Conference Final rematch and play in its eighth GSC Final in the past 10 years. West Florida has knocked off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in Alabama Huntsville and Lee this postseason, while West Alabama is coming off its Friday win against No. 4 seed Shorter. UWF is 12-5 on the season, while the Tigers stand at 9-6-2 overall in 2015. The game is slated to take place at Tiger Stadium on the campus of University of West Alabama, scheduled tomorrow for a 1:00 p.m. CT start.
Recapping the Semifinals
The Argos have defeated the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament as they await the No. 1 seed in West Alabama tomorrow. West Florida defeated Alabama Hunstville in thrilling fashion on Friday, allowing the team to advance to the GSC Finals.
Sophomore Tristan Rehrig got the scoring started for UWF, as the midfielder capitalized on miscommunication between a UAH goalie and defender sneaked the ball by both of them, giving the Argonauts the 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. Alabama Huntsville would knot the score at one after the halftime break, as Gunnar Oddgeir recorded his first goal of the season in the 63rd minute.
Poor weather conditions would force a delay with 8:45 remaining in regulation and neither team could push ahead in before the end of 90 minutes. Four minutes into the first overtime period, UWF pushed the ball offensively creating a scoring chance until being fouled in the box by a Chargers defender. Felipe Oliveira would take the shot and tallied his GSC-best fifth game-winning goal of the season, and send West Florida to its eighth GSC Final in the past ten years.
Jacob Murray stopped three shots on the evening, improving his record to 6-2 on the season.
Last Time Out vs. West Alabama
West Florida fell to West Alabama for the first time in program history earlier this season on Oct. 18, as the Tigers were able to notch a 86th minute goal to break a scoreless tie. Prior to the match, UWF had won all six of its meetings with UWA and outscored the Tigers 13-4. One previous victory includes West Florida's 2013 GSC Final win, in which the Argos defeated the Tigers 2-1 en route to its ninth GSC title.
West Alabama's Ashley Phillips was the one to slip one by UWF keeper Andre Moreira late in the contest. Shots on goal were even for the match at four per team. Jorge Chirinos led the team in shots with two and both of the senior's offensive opportunities were on target. The contest marked as the lone occasion West Florida was prevented from scoring.
Players to Watch
Three-time All-GSC First Team selection Felipe Oliveira has been the offensive catalyst for West Florida late in the season. The senior has tallied game-winning goals in both of West Florida's postseason games thus far, including his penalty kick game-winner against Alabama Huntsville on Friday. Oliveira's five game-winning goals is the fifth most amongst all of NCAA Division II, and best in the league. Oliveira has recorded at least a point in five consecutive games, with 10 total points in that span. Oliveira notched his fourth and fifth goals of the season in the first round against Lee in the GSC Semifinals on Tuesday. The senior sits sixth in the conference in points, with 17, seventh in assists, with five, and sixth in the conference in goals, with six. UWF is 8-1 in games which Oliveira records a point.
Fellow 2015 All-GSC First Team selection Jorge Chirinos has played an important offensive role in the Argos midfield late in the season. Chirinos' goal against Spring Hill on Oct. 30 secured West Florida's playoff spot and has recorded seven points in his last seven games. Chirinos is UWF's leading shot taker, as he currently ranks fifth in the conference with 46 offensive opportunities.
Marteinn Urbancic is second on the team in points, as the junior has tallied six goals and four assists on the year. Urbancic recorded an assist on Oliveira's first goal in Tuesday's GSC Quarterfinal win and the Iceland native currently sits eighth in the conference in points, with 16, and sixth in the conference with six goals. West Florida is 8-1 in games which Urbancic records a point.
Goalkeepers Andre Moreira and Jacob Murray have split time in net, as their records are 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. Moreira's 1.31 goals against average qualify as the third best in the GSC, while the Brazil native owns a .707 save percentage. Moreira has recorded two shutouts on the year, while Murray has been in net during the other three shutouts. Murray owns a 0.95 goals against average and a .680 save percentage.
Freshmen Kameron Bethell, Stephen Enderlin and Michael Starkey have all made significant contributions so far in their freshman campaigns. Bethell has patrolled the Argonauts midfield, recording three goals and an assist on the 2015 campaign. Enderlin is third on the team in goals and points, as the Little Rock, Arkansas native has recorded five goals and an assist on the year. Starkey is second on the team in minutes played as a defender and has tallied an assist on the year. Bethell and Enderlin were the first two recipients of the GSC Freshman of the Week award in 2015.
Sophomore Tristan Rehrig has played valuable minutes this postseason at midfield, highlighted by his goal against Alabama Huntsville which opened the scoring in the GSC Semifinal match.
All-GSC Second Team selection Soren Yuhaschek and fellow defender Japhet Bitsindou have played an important role in helping UWF record the second best goals against average in the conference and five shutouts on the year. Yuhaschek and Bitsindou are the only two Argonauts to start all 17 games this season. Yuhaschek has tallied two goals during the 2015 campaign, while Bitsindou picked an optimal time to score his first goal of the season on Tuesday against Lee. West Florida currently owns the third best margin of victory in the conference, holding an average of 0.75 goals in its contests.
Scouting West Alabama
West Alabama, the GSC Final host and No. 1 seed, is coming off a 1-0 victory in its GSC Semifinal matchup against Shorter on Friday. UWA has won four of its last five games and stands at 9-6-2 on the year, while having posted an impressive 7-1-1 GSC mark during the regular season.
Alex Brown leads the Tigers in scoring, as he is the lone UWA player with a double digit point total. Brown has recorded six goals on the year, with two of them being the game-winning tally. Jean-Baptiste Meyniel leads the Tigers in shots with 31.
West Alabama has outscored its opponents 24-18 on the year and owns the best goals against average in the conference, only conceeding 0.98 goals per game. West Alabama opponents have outshot the Tigers however, having 203 shots in comparison to UWA's 190. West Alabama leads the GSC in clean sheets, as its rotation of keepers between Brad Louis and Joshua Bramwell have four apiece. Brad Louis has played every game since Oct. 11, as Louis owns a 1.16 goals against average and a .766 save percentage with a 4-4 record and four saves per game average.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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