Tigers Score Three Unanswered To Defeat Cincinnati In AAC Opener

Saturday, September 23

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

2-3-2, 1-0-0

Cincinnati

4-3-1, 0-1-0

Memphis

Cincinnati

Photo by: Don Claussen

Tigers Score Three Unanswered To Defeat Cincinnati In AAC Opener

Sep 23, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Three different Tigers register goals in the victory

CINCINNATI, Ohio. – Three unanswered goals in the second half by the University of Memphis men's soccer team led the Tigers to a 3-1 victory over Cincinnati Saturday evening. The win improves Memphis to 2-3-2 on the year and 1-0-0 in American Athletic Conference play.

Memphis has now earned a result in the last three-straight contests including back-to-back victories. This was also the first win over Cincinnati for head coach Richard Mulrooney.

"We're pleased with the result," said Mulrooney. "Through the whole 90 minutes, I thought we were the better team and we earned that. After going down 1-0, the guys responded well and stuck to the game plan and we were rewarded."

The Tigers and the Bearcats played to a stalemate in the first half. As the first half progressed, Memphis picked up momentum. The first half ended with shots in favor of the Tigers, 8-6.

In the 54^th minute of the match, Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead after capitalizing on a corner kick. Memphis had an answer quickly, however, with Ben Roberts' goal in the 59^th minute. David Zalzman earned the assist on Roberts' first goal of the season.

Just two minutes later in the 61^st minute, Chris Mikus scored what proved to be the game-winning goal of the match. Mikus was inside the 18-yard box when he found the far post to put the Tigers up. Burke Fahling was credited with the assist.

Jackson Morse added an insurance goal less than 10 minutes later to put Memphis up 3-1. Fahling served the ball into Morse who headed it to the back post. Fahling finished the match with two assists for Memphis.

The Tigers outshot Cincinnati 16-12 while the Bearcats finished with nine corners to Memphis' eight. Goalkeeper Jake Leeker finished the match with three saves. Nine of the Tigers' 16 shots were on goal.

Memphis resumes play Monday evening on the road at Northern Kentucky. Kick-off against the Norse is set for 5 p.m. For more information on the Memphis men's soccer team, follow the Tigers on Facebook at /MemphisSoccer and on Twitter and Instagram at @MemphisMSoccer.