IU men's soccer comes home Friday for match against UAB

After a tough weekend in St. Louis, the Hoosiers return home Friday night in hopes of snapping their first losing streak of the season with a victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham. IU leads the all-time series with a record of 1-0-2.\nLast season, the Blazers forced an overtime period with IU, playing to a 1-1 tie in regulation. The Hoosiers eventually won the match by capitalizing on a corner kick to grab the game winner for a 2-1 finish. \nIU coach Mike Freitag said he hopes this weekend’s game is not as close as last year’s contest, but added that as long as his team comes away victorious, he will be happy.\n“If it’s (as close as last year’s game) but we come out with the win, that’s okay,” Freitag said. “I’m just looking to get a win and for my team to play to its potential consistently for 90 minutes.”\nSeveral UAB players have had their names in the news this season. Junior Dejan Jakovic was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list at the beginning of the season. This week, junior forward Frank Brown and sophomore goalkeeper Wes Johnson were awarded the Conference USA offensive and defensive player of the week awards, respectively. Brown was also selected for the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. \nThe Blazers have won their last four matches in shutouts, including two victories to claim the UAB Classic championship. \nIU dropped its last two contests – both by 2-1 scores – at the Saint Louis/Nike Soccer Classic, where the team faced now-No. 7 Creighton and now-No. 18 Saint Louis last weekend.\nIn the first match of the weekend, Creighton bested the Hoosiers offensively, taking 17 shots to the Hoosiers’ seven. Saint Louis proved to be equally as tough on the Hoosiers, capitalizing on a defensive mistake for one of their two goals. \nDespite allowing four goals over the course of the weekend, junior goalkeeper Chay Cain also tallied 10 saves in the tournament. Cain currently leads the Big Ten in saves, averaging five a game, with a .96 goals-allowed average.\nSenior back Charley Traylor said he has has experience to overlook tough losses and prepare for better results his weekend.\n“We’re trying to refocus,” Traylor said. “We’ve got to get back to our winning ways.”\nFreshman forward Neil Wilmarth said he believes his team is already focused.\n“I think everyone’s confident,” Wilmarth said. “We’re back in form and ready to play. We should come out with a victory.”\nThe Hoosiers have played their last four games on the road, but will be playing four of the next five in Bloomington. Traylor said he looks forward to playing in front of home fans.\n“We love Bill Armstrong Stadium,” Traylor said. “We always feel better with the crowd behind us.”