Memphis Faces No. 19 Louisville Tuesday

Tuesday, September 22

Louisville, Ky.

6:00 PM CT

University of Memphis

#24 Louisville

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Sep 21, 2015 | Men's Soccer

The Tigers will play their third nationally ranked opponent this season

WHAT: Match 6
WHO: Memphis at Louisville
WHEN: 6 p.m. CT, Sept. 21, 2015
WATCH: C ardsTV
STATS: Live Stats
TWITTER: @MemphisMSoccer

Memphis will travel to face yet another nationally ranked team as they square off with No. 19 Louisville Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. This is the final tune-up before the Tigers (0-4-1) open American Athletic Conference play, against UCF Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

"We are still searching for our first win and we're hungry for it," Memphis head coach Richard Mulrooney said. "I think we were unfortunate not to get the win over Kentucky but it did break our losing streak. The guys are confident and hopefully a result comes our way."

It has been 10 days since Memphis last played but in that match the Tigers earned their first positive result of the season, a 0-0 draw in double overtime at No. 15 Kentucky. Memphis dominated possession and had 17 shots in the match.

Through the first five games of the season Memphis has scored just one goal, by midfielder Mason Morise in the season-opener against UAB. The Tigers have been level at halftime of every match they've played this season.

"I think this break has been wonderful for our team. We've figured out a few things about our team that we maybe wouldn't have been able to find out without the long break. We were able to work on some things in practice. The guys have jumped at the opportunity to learn and to become better," said Mulrooney.

Louisville (3-2-2) has played three straight overtime matches and has two draws and a loss in that stretch. The Cardinals fell in overtime to nationally ranked Saint Louis but managed draws in ACC play against Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

Prior to those results, Louisville's last win came over bitter rivals Kentucky, 2-0.

Tate Schmitt leads the team with three goals and also shares the team lead with two assists. Goalkeeper Jeff Nicks has played six of the Cardinals' seven games in net but Theo Jamilloux played the most recent match, allowing just one goal in a 1-1 draw with Virginia Tech.

"This is a team that in the last several years has consistently made the NCAA Tournament. They play in a very tough conference, in the ACC. Individually they have a bunch of quality and as a team they play very well together. This will be a big challenge for us but I think we're up for it," Mulrooney said.

Memphis, who was picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference, will go right into league play next against UCF, who was picked to finish sixth.

Saturday's home match will be part of an "Alumni Weekend" double header with the women's team hosting Gonzaga at 5:00 p.m. prior to the start of the men's game.