Photo: UAB Athletics
UAB’s Babayele Sodade will play with the Canadian Men’s Olympic team this week.
A pair of UAB soccer players will compete for their country.
Photo: Andrew, Shurtleff, UAB Athletics
Junior Babayele Sodade and senior Curtis Ushedo, shown at right, will train with the Canadian National Olympic Soccer team during workouts in Phoenix, beginning Thursday.
The highlight of the camp will be a friendly match Tuesday against Team USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
“This is a great opportunity for both Curtis and Babayele,” UAB coach Mike Getman said. “I am very excited that they have been asked to represent their nation at such a high level.”
Nations use Olympic soccer teams for players age 23 and younger to develop talent for the full national team in the World Cup held every 4 years.
Ushedo, a Blazer defender from Mississauga, Ontario, anchored one of the toughest defenses last season in Conference USA. Under his leadership, UAB finished No. 2 in the league in goals against average, 1.11, and No. 3 in goals allowed (20) with five shutouts. Playing almost every minute in defense during the season, Ushedo racked up two goals and one assist.
“Curtis was our captain all year this season and is a very special player,” Getman said. During Ushedo’s career at UAB, he was named to the Conference USA All-Conference team three times, earning a spot on the first team in 2010.
Sodade, a forward from Windsor, Ontario, was a scoring machine in 2010 with nine goals on the year, good for fifth in Conference USA action. He earned second-team all-conference honors.
“Babayele is an amazing athlete,” Getman said. “I think he is among the best athletes in all of collegiate soccer.
“He is a great goal scorer, and I’m glad to see has a chance to reach his potential.”
Since Getman’s arrival in 1992, UAB has become one of the nation’s most successful college soccer teams. He has developed into a premier recruiter with particular success in recruiting Canadian players such as Dejan Jakovic.
Jakovic played for the Blazers from 2004 to 2007 and currently plays for D.C. United. He played with the Canadian Olympic Team that lost out in qualifying to the United States for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and now plays for the Canadian Men’s National Team.
• More Loyd McIntosh at Loyd’s Mixed Bag.
Video: UAB’s Babayele Sodade scores in the 58th minute
against Virginia in September.
