NCAA men

Gregory goal allows UAB to upset top-ranked SMU 2-1.

Jerson Monteiro (above) set up Trey Gregory's winning goal in UAB's upset of SMU. -- Alabama at Birmingham web site photo --

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Wednesday, October 25, 2006) -- Sophomore midfielder Trey Gregory's goal midway through the second half allowed Alabama at Birmingham to hand No. 1 Southern Methodist its first loss of the season with a 2-1 decision tonight in a Conference USA match before 2,755, a record crowd, at West Campus Field.

"Anytime you beat the No. 1 team in the nation it is a pretty big win," UAB coach Mike Getman said. "The crowd was terrific tonight. They gave us a lot of energy and support and it was great to see the stands filled for this game. I know our players, especially the seniors, appreciated it."

Sophomore midfielder Carlo Schiavoni started the Blazers' decisive sequence with a free kick from midfield. Senior striker Jerson Monteiro got under it and flicked a header to Gregory, who lobbed a shot over SMU senior goalkeeper Matt Wideman's to make it 2-1 with 60:35 elapsed.

UAB (8-6-2, 3-3-1 in C-USA) took an early 1-0 lead. After coming up empty on good scoring opportunities in the opening 10 minutes, the Blazers' persistence paid off with 12:57 gone. Junior defender Joe Klosterman sent a long clearance sailing from his penalty area over the SMU back-line. Senior forward Lukasz Kwapisz raced onto the ball, beat a defender and deposited a shot into the left side of the net.

The Mustangs (14-1-3, 4-1-2) responded quickly with senior defender Mynor Gonzalez converting a penalty kick for a 1-1 tie 39 seconds later. The penalty was awarded after UAB senior midfielder Derick Radcliffe attempted to clear a ball off the wet turf in his box and had it skip upward and off his hand.

"It wasn't until about 1:20 left in the game that I thought, 'Okay, we have a good chance at this,' " Getman said. "You put together a game plan and hope that the players execute it. I don't know if a group of players could execute it any better."

The Mustangs held a 15-9 shots margin over UAB, which received four saves from senior goalkeeper Jeremy Drake. Wideman made three saves.

Entering the contest, SMU had outscored its opposition 45-8.

Do you have a comment on this story or something to say about soccer in general? Send us a letter.