University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
3-10-0
Missouri State
6-5-2
Bears declaw Tigers, 2-0
Oct 26, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 26, 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The University of Memphis men’s soccer team dropped its road match with Missouri State, 2-0, Tuesday night, in a physical match that featured multiple warnings for rough play on either side.
Some finesse play entered into the match early on, with Missouri State junior Heath Melugin beating Memphis freshman Martin Hunter in the 12th minute for the Bears first goal.
“The first goal was a key to the match,” said Memphis head coach Richie Grant. “Falling behind early is hurting us, and tonight it enabled Missouri State to force us to play their style.”
Melugin’s team-leading sixth goal would be all the difference the Bears needed against a crippled Memphis offense that was missing the legs of Thomas Shannon, Hugo Mondragon and Tiago Reichert, scorers of six the Tigers 17 season goals.
The Tigers managed just seven shots, with only sophomore Dennis Kennetz, Jr. and freshman Liam Collins putting shots on net; Collins had two of the Tigers three shots on goal.
“With those guys out, it hurts us no doubt,” said Grant. “The injuries give other players a chance to step up and get experience but our trouble scoring is a real problem.”
Melugin would pick up one of three Missouri State yellow cards in the 84th minute for rough play. The other two would go to Chad Johnson (42nd minute) and Jordan Hoffman (63rd minute).
Kennetz (58th minute) and sophomore Chris Porter (81st minute) each earned yellows for Memphis.
Hunter made three saves on the evening for Memphis, making the spot start for sophomore Jordan Leedle.
“We’re going to give Martin some more opportunities late in the season,” said Grant. “These last few games will give us an opportunity to get a lot of younger players and guys who haven’t played as much some game time.”
Sophomore Eric Martin had the Bears other goal, putting a shot past Hunter in the 65th minute for the insurance goal to drop Memphis to 3-10-1 on the season.
“The second goal put the game away,” said Grant. “We had good looks and the rest of this season has to be about capitalizing on them.”
Senior keeper Alex Riggs made three saves en route to his season’s seventh shutout, which moved the Bears to 6-5-2 in 2010.
The Tigers will travel to South Carolina, Sunday, in their final C-USA road match before returning home for a non-conference tilt with Alabama A&M and culminating in the Fox Soccer Channel match with archrival UAB, Nov. 5.
Team Stats
Melugin,Heath (6)
Assisted By: Williams,Dan , Buckenheimer,David
Buckenheimer center, one-touched ahead t
11:04
Martin,Eric (1)
Assisted By: Barbero,Gerard
Barbero with center, headed in by Martin
64:03
