MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's soccer faces a weekend packed with two in-state Gulf South Conference rivals: West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville.
So Far This Season…
The Falcons head into the weekend with a 2-5 overall mark and a 1-1 record in Gulf South action. Montevallo started the season with two losses in Morrow, Ga. before coming home to face North Georgia in a 2-1 loss on Sept. 7. The Falcons found the first win of the season after taking down Newberry 2-1 on Sept. 16. Montevallo rebounded from a 3-0 loss to Lander with a 3-1 victory over Shorter on the road. UM battled for 90 minutes in the most recent outing but would eventually fall to Lee, 1-0, on the road on Sept. 24.
Scouting West Alabama: WATCH | LIVE STATS
West Alabama enters Friday night's contest as the No. 8 team in the United Soccer Coaches South Region Poll with a 4-1-2 overall record and a 2-0-1 mark in league play. The Tigers tallied a 2-1-1 record in non-conference play with wins over North Georgia and Florida Southern. In the conference slate, UWA is unbeaten in its three GSC contests. West Alabama started with a 1-1 draw with Lee before taking an 8-1 win over Shorter on Sept. 17. In the most recent match, the Tigers earned a 3-0 victory over Spring Hill in Livingston, Ala. Baronyi Kengeye leads West Alabama's offense with five goals on the season with Lasse Schwieren tallying a 3-1-2 record in goal.
Scouting Alabama Huntsville: WATCH | LIVE STATS
The Chargers hold a 4-2-1 overall record as the No. 10 team in the USC South Region. UAH earned a 2-1-1 record in non-conference action with wins over Trevecca Nazarene and Georgia Southwestern before entering league play with a 4-0 win over Shorter on the road. The Chargers followed up with a 2-1 win over Lee for an unbeaten 2-0 in conference play. In its latest outing, UAH fell, 3-1, to Lindsey Wilson on Sept. 22. The Chargers' attack is led by sophomore forward Rafa Vega's three goals while Ethan Haworth tallied two shutouts as the UAH goalkeeper.
Series History Against West Alabama:
The Falcons and the Tigers have squared off a total of 12 times from Sept. 5, 2012, to the latest meeting on Oct. 9, 2022. Montevallo took the match in 2012 before UWA rattled off two consecutive wins over the Falcons in 2013-14. Montevallo won both games in 2015-16 before UWA took three straight with two matchups in 2017 and one in 2018. In each of the last four meetings, the home team has come out on top with West Alabama taking the latest meeting 1-0 in Livingston.
Series History Against Alabama Huntsville:
Since 1994, UAH and Montevallo have met on the pitch a total of 33 times with Montevallo holding a slight edge over the Chargers with a 16-15-2 all-time record. UAH dominated the series in the early days of Div. II Montevallo before the Falcons rattled off ten-straight victories from 1999-2008. Since then, the series has been an even match with UAH holding the longest win streak in the last 14 seasons with three wins from 2018-20. In the most recent meeting, UAH came out on top, 1-0, on Oct. 7, 2022.
Player Highlights:
The Falcons have shared the wealth in the first third of the season with eight different Falcons adding a goal to the stat sheet. Sophomore midfielder Branko Buljan Ivelich leads Montevallo's attack with two goals while Brock Barbee, Joshua Owens, and Julio Rojo each have scored a goal and added an assist. In the last outing, sophomore goalkeeper Tomas Valles Gilbert set a new career high with nine saves on 21 shots faced to bring his season total to 34 saves.
