GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman men’s soccer team will travel to face UAB in the opening round of the 48-team NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship on Thursday, it was announced Monday afternoon on NCAA.com. Kickoff between the Paladins and Blazers at West Campus Field in Birmingham, Ala., will be at 5:30 p.m. Central.

“I’m so proud of our team, especially our seniors, for helping us get to the postseason,” said Paladin head coach Doug Allison, who is leading Furman into the NCAA tournament for the seventh time. “We are excited about playing at UAB. Every game this time of year is tough, and we know they have a quality team.”

Furman punched its ticket to the postseason by claiming a 1-0 victory over Mercer in the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship title match on Saturday night in Greensboro, N.C. Sophomore Lewis Hawke headed in the game-winning goal, his eighth score of the season, in the 82nd minute, and a stout defensive effort by the Paladins helped junior goalkeeper Sven Lissek match the SoCon’s single-season record with his 11th shutout of the season.

The Paladins will be making their ninth trip to the NCAA tournament and first since the 2011 season. Furman boasts a 6-8 all-time tournament record and advanced to the quarterfinals in 1999 and the round of 16 in 2002.

UAB, 11-7-1 on the season, received an at-large bid to the tournament. The Blazers, ranked No. 21 nationally in the latest Continental Tire/NSCAA Top 25, dropped a 1-0 decision to South Carolina in the C-USA Championship semifinals this past weekend.

Thursday’s match marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Paladins and Blazers, with UAB holding a 3-2-0 series lead. The Blazers downed the Paladins 1-0 in a first-round NCAA tournament contest in the last meeting between the schools, on Nov. 23, 2001, in Columbia, S.C.