Aug. 14, 2009

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's soccer team will get its first test of the season when it faces one of the top teams in the nation on Saturday, playing Texas A&M in an exhibition match at 7 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas.

The Blazers have been in preseason training for a week-and-a-half now, participating in intersquad scrimmages and preparing for the season ahead. UAB head coach Paul Harbin feels that after all the training the Blazers have done, it is time to put them to the test against another team.

"We are ready to play someone," said Harbin. "Since preseason has started, we have been scrimmaging against ourselves. We are at that point where we are ready to play someone else and get a clearer idea of where we are."

UAB brings back 13 letterwinners, including eight starters from a season ago. Even with eight newcomers on the squad, the Blazers should feel good about returning their top six scorers and their starting goalkeeper from the 2008 campaign, when they went 7-11-2 overall and 5-4-2 in Conference USA to place seventh in the league standings.

Texas A&M returns 19 letterwinners, including nine starters from last season when the Aggies went 18-5-1 overall and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies, who finished second in the Big 12 last year, concluded the 2008 campaign ranked No. 7 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

"This will be a very good measure for us," said Harbin. "Texas A&M is consistently one of the best teams in the country. It will be a good opportunity to find out where we are."

Saturday's match is UAB's one-and-only preseason game before the regular-season gets underway on Aug. 21 at Alabama. The Blazers' first home match of the year will be held on Aug. 23 at 2 p.m. CT when they host Ole Miss at West Campus Field.