MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's soccer team plays its last out-of-conference match of the 2010 season when it hits the road again to challenge the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

The Orange and Black went 1-1 in their opening weekend of Atlantic Sun Conference play. The Bears downed USC Upstate 2-0 on September 30, but fell to ETSU 2-1 on October 2 to conclude the road trip. The loss at ETSU ended Mercer's six-game unbeaten streak and dropped its record to 5-2-1 (1-1-0 A-Sun).

Scouting the Opposition

UAB enters Wednesday's match ranked No. 29 in the country with a 6-3-0 record. The Blazers have already played three Atlantic Sun schools this season (Belmont, Lipscomb and UNF) and boast a perfect 3-0 record against the conference. UAB owns an 11-0-2 advantage in the all-time series against Mercer, with the Bears last positive result coming in the form of a 0-0 tie in 2006. The Blazers are paced on the offensive side of the ball by junior Babayele Sodade, who leads the team with six goals and 13 total points. UAB leads the nation with 26 goals scored this season.    

Game Notes

- Mercer senior Ian Cameron had an impressive opening weekend of conference play for the Bears. The Glasgow, Scotland native recorded an assist in the Orange and Black's win over USC Upstate on Sept. 30 and scored his team leading fourth goal of the season in a 2-1 defeat at ETSU on Oct. 2. Cameron's goal against ETSU put him in a tie for the 10^th most points in a career in Mercer men's soccer history. 

- The Bears road record is now 3-2-1 after this past weekend's split of USC Upstate and ETSU. Mercer has proven to be a team that can get results on the road under head coach Brad Ruzzo, earning four of its seven total wins in 2009 away from Bear Field.

- The Orange and Black are having this early season success despite a very challenging schedule to date. The combined records of all the opponents Mercer has shared the pitch with this season is 46-43-17.