LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama Men's Soccer team will take their unbeaten record to Birmingham on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. neutral site matchup against Palm Beach Atlantic that will take place at Oak Mountain High School.
West Alabama (1-0-1) comes into Saturday's contest after a 2-0 win over Eckerd in the season opener last Friday, before playing to a 1-1 draw with Florida Southern on Sunday. For Palm Beach Atlantic (1-0-1), they also come into this weekend's play unbeaten, dominating Spring Hill, 6-1, in their season opener before drawing with Alabama Huntsville, 1-1, on Thursday.
"We are all extremely excited to face off against Palm Beach Atlantic," said head coach
Ross Nelson. "They have a rich history in Division II Soccer and we see this as a fantastic opportunity to make a real statement! We will be ready!"
Through the first two matches of the season,
David Nunez has been the standout for the Tigers as the sophomore recorded a goal in UWA's contests against Eckerd and Alabama Huntsville. Nunez's fast start to the 2024 season comes to no surprise for Tiger fans as the forward broke onto the collegiate scene, as a true freshman, last year, scoring three goals which led to the Conference naming him the Freshman of the Year. UWA lost their top two goal scorers in
Baronyi Kengeye and
Adrian Evrard this past offseason, so the Tigers will need someone to carry that load and Nunez very well could be 'the guy'.
Outside of Nunez,
Aiden Riley is the other player on West Alabama's roster that has found the back of the net this season. Riley, a 5'9" midfielder, is in the midst of his freshmen season after putting together a stellar high school career at Oak Mountain High School. The true freshman is slated to play a big role for UWA in 2024 and should be all over the field on Saturday night against the Sailfish.
After a 6-8-2 record last season, Palm Beach Atlantic kicked off their 2024 campaign hot offensively, scoring a combined seven goals in their first two matches. Agustin Iusem has scored two of those seven goals to lead the Sailfish in that category. Iusem is a 6'3" Forward who transferred to Palm Beach Atlantic in the offseason after playing for, Division I, Marshall where he played 389 total minutes and scored three career goals in a limited role. The senior is now an important piece to this Sailfish team and will be a handful for the Tigers to contain on Saturday.
On the defensive side of the ball for Palm Beach Atlantic, Jake Scrachan is arguably the Sailfish's best defender. In two games, there hasn't been a second that Scrachan hasn't been on the pitch for Palm Beach Atlantic and expect him to get a heavy work load on Saturday as he attempts to slow down West Alabama's Nunez, Riley, and company.
Omar Einarsson will be in the goal for the Sailfish. The Goalkeeper has only allowed one goal on 18 shots, making seven saves thus far in 2024.
Saturday's contest between the Tigers and the Sailfish is set for 6:00 p.m. at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham, Alabama.
