Memphis Earns Road Win, Defeating Tulsa 1-0

Saturday, October 20

Tulsa, Okla.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

6-4-4, 2-2-1AAC

Tulsa

4-8-2, 1-4AAC

OT 2

Memphis

Tulsa

Photo by: Michael Wade

Oct 20, 2018 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Golden Goal from Sangha Propels Tigers to Victory

TULSA, Okla. – Memphis takes one on the road as the Tigers defeat Tulsa in overtime by a 1-0 score.

Gurman Sangha punches home his first goal of the season off of Chris Mikus' saved shot just a minute and change into overtime. The victory is Memphis' first win in five overtime matches this season.

"I was proud of the guys. Obviously in this league, it's tough to get points anywhere, but especially on the road," head coach Richard Mulrooney said. "Our guys weren't able to finish on a couple of earlier chances, but I was proud of the way they never gave up."

Both teams were slow to get chances on offense, with teams getting only a combined eight shots in the first half.

David Zalzman took three of the Tigers' five shots through the first 45, with all three being near misses or saves.

The second half was a tale of momentum. The first part of the second half was controlled by Tulsa, with the Golden Hurricane taking three corner kicks and getting several chances at shots in the early goings of the second period.

The Memphis defense stood tall, however, stopping each and every attack from Tulsa, weathering the Golden Hurricane.

When the Tigers were able to clear the ball, counter attacks were scattered throughout the second half, but each one failed to find the back of the net.

As regulation ended, the teams had countered each other's haymakers, and the score stood at 0-0. While Memphis had the advantage in shot count (13-7), Tulsa had the upper hand in corner kicks (5-2).

Overtime ended almost as quickly as it started, and just 67 seconds in, Mikus took a shot from inside the box, which was saved by Tulsa's keeper. Fortunately for the Tigers, the save sent the ball into the waiting foot of Gurman Sangha, who capitalized on the loose ball and finished the golden goal.

"It's huge for Gurman, and it's huge for us," Mulrooney said of Sangha's goal. "We don't have someone scoring 10 or 15 goals this year, so it has to be a team effort. This'll give Gurman a lot of confidence, and it really gives all of us confidence moving forward."

Defeating Tulsa is not only Memphis' second conference win of the year, but it also marks the first time the Tigers have beaten the Golden Hurricane since 2011.

The Tigers are back on the road this week, playing a non-conference mid-week match against Lipscomb on Tuesday before hosting UCF for Senior Day.