University of Memphis Athletics
Men's Soccer Begins Conference Play at Tulsa and SMU
Sep 28, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2005
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The University of Memphis men's soccer team opens its Conference USA schedule on the road at the league's preseason No. 1 and No. 2 picks. The Tigers will play No. 17 Tulsa (3-2-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. and then travel to SMU (2-4-2) for a game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Memphis (4-3-0) was picked third in the preseason poll behind the two schools. Tulsa and SMU have 23 combined years of NCAA tournament experience with both giving strong showings in the tournament in 2004. The U of M enters league play with a three-game losing streak after falling to Vanderbilt at home, 4-3 last Saturday.
The Tigers have played Tulsa twice and have won both meetings. The two teams met in 1996 and in 1997 with the Tigers winning 3-0 and 3-2.
The Golden Hurricanes have played a tough schedule thus far. Last week the team hosted its Golden Hurricane Classic with participating schools including No. 1 New Mexico, No. 19 Creighton and SMU. Tulsa handed Creighton its first loss of the season, 1-0, and then fell to New Mexico in overtime, 2-1. The Golden Hurricane also recently beat Saint Louis 4-1. The Golden Hurricane are led by senior Kyle Brown who has four goals and two assists for 10 points. Tulsa has outscored its opponents 15-13 through eight games.
Memphis has met SMU twice and has yet to win a game or score a goal against the Mustangs. The Tigers were shutout 9-0 by SMU in the two schools first meeting in 1982. Nearly 10 years later, Memphis was again shutout by a then No. 1 SMU team, 7-0, in 2001.
At first glance, SMU's record gives the appearance of an off-year for the traditionally good program. However, three of the four losses have come against top ranked teams. The Mustangs lost to a then No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 1 Indiana, and No. 2 New Mexico. The fourth loss was to an always good Saint Louis team. The Mustangs enter the week after tying No. 19 Creighton, 1-1. Picked to finish first in C-USA, SMU is averaging 0.94 goals per game while giving up 2. The team is led by Jay Needham who has three goals and Duke Hashimoto who has two. SMU has scored eight goals in eight games, while giving up 17.
Gametracker is available for both games. The Tulsa contest will have live audio and the SMU game will have live video through CSTV's all-access package. Links to the live broadcasts will be available on the men's soccer schedule page at www.goTIGERSgo.com.
