NCAA First-Round Match Friday at Arkansas

Friday, November 11

Fayetteville, AR

6:30 PM

University of Memphis

Arkansas

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Nov 10, 2016 | Women's Soccer

Memphis Notes - NCAA First Round

Memphis makes its return to the NCAA Tournament Friday at 6:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis women's soccer team will make its return to the NCAA Tournament when the Tigers take on Arkansas Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Razorback Field in Fayetteville.

GAME INFORMATION:
Friday, Nov. 11 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Memphis at No. 17 Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Venue: Razorback Field
Twitter Updates: @MemphisWSoccer
Video: SECNetwork+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Memphis Story Lines

Memphis is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since making five-straight appearances from 2007-11. The Tigers advanced to the second round for the first time in 2011, beating UT Martin.
The at-large selection is the first in program history, after receiving the conference automatic bid five-straight seasons from 2007-11.
Memphis had a seven-match winning streak snapped in the American Athletic Conference semifinal loss to SMU. The seven consecutive wins were the most by a Memphis team since the middle of the 2012 season.
During the winning streak, Memphis outscored opponents 23-3 with four shutouts. For the season, the Tigers have seven shutouts and have outscored opponents 44-16.
The Tigers have 14 total wins, which is the most since the historic 2011 season. That year Memphis went 22-1-1 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2011 Tigers won their first 12 games with eight shutouts. After a tie against SMU, Memphis went on to win its next 10 matches, including a fifth-straight Conference USA Tournament title and an NCAA first round win.
As it currently stands, the 14 wins would be the fifth-most in the 22 years of Memphis women's soccer history.
The Tigers' roster consists of 14 Canadian players. Of the 11 Tigers with the most minutes played this season, nine are from Canada.
Head coach Brooks Monaghan recorded his 200th career win in the Oct. 27 victory over USF.
Valerie Sanderson and Marie Levasseur were named to the American Athletic Conference First Team, while six Memphis Tigers in all received all-conference recognition. Maryse Bard-Martel, Olivia Gauthier and Jessica Lisi landed on the second team and Lisi and Serena Dolan were selected to the All-Rookie team.

Individual Player Notes

Valerie Sanderson, a four-time all-conference player, became the Tigers' all-time leading goal-scorer this season with 52 goals. The Boisbriand, Quebec native, also holds the program's career record with 122 points. She has 16 career game-winning goals and also holds the program record with 12 multiple-goal matches. This season she has 16 goals and 39 points, which are both the most by a senior in school history. Sanderson is just the second four-time all-conference player in Memphis history after Vendula Strnadova was first team from 2007-10.
Marie Levasseur is third on the team with 16 points on five goals and six assists. Three of the sophomore's goals are game-winners, including the double overtime winner in the season-finale against UCF. The Stoneham, Quebec City native, has 11 career goals and nine assists. The Tigers will be without Levasseur for the remainder of the season while she is with the Canadian national team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which runs Nov. 13 to Dec. 3.
Maryse Bard-Martel is second in program history with 44 career goalkeeping wins and tied for second all-time with 25 shutouts. Her 260 career saves are the second-most and her career 1.14 goals against average is the third-best at Memphis. This season she has allowed just 16 goals in 19 matches, has 62 saves, 14 wins and seven shutouts.
Olivia Gauthier has captained the Tigers in all 19 matches this season and anchored the defense that has posted seven shutouts. She has started every match and leads all of the Tigers with 1,746 minutes played. The Saint John, New Brunswick native, also has one assist this season.
Jessica Lisi has made a major impact in her freshman season. She leads the Tigers with nine assists and is second on the team with six goals and 21 points. The Woodbridge, Ontario product, has started every match in the midfield.
Serena Dolan has added four goals and five assists as a freshman. A product of Kentville, Nova Scotia, she has also started all 19 matches in the midfield for the Tigers. The box-to-box midfielder is third on the team with 1,677 minutes played, which leads all of the Tigers' freshmen.

The Series with Arkansas

The Tigers and Razorbacks have played five times and Arkansas leads the all-time series 4-1.
Memphis played Arkansas in each of the first three seasons after the Tigers' program was started in 1995 and the Razorbacks won all three meetings.
The two teams played a home-and-home in 2006 and 2007, with Arkansas winning 1-0 in Memphis and the Tigers winning, 2-1 in overtime in 2007 in Fayetteville.
Memphis has plenty of history with Arkansas head coach Colby Hale, who spent nine seasons at UCF (2003-11). The Tigers and Knights played 11 times from 2005-11, including five times in the conference tournament. Memphis went 7-3-1 against UCF during that stretch.