Tigers End Four-Game Road Swing With Match at Belmont

MEMPHIS, Tennessee – After a furious comeback win in double overtime against No. 10/11 Xavier, the Memphis men's soccer team caps a four-game slate away from home with a midweek matchup against Belmont. Kick time against the Bruins is set for 7 p.m. CT.

Match Information
Matchup: Memphis (3-2) at Belmont (0-4-1)
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 17
Location: Nashville, Tenn. – 7 p.m. CT
Venue: E.S. Rose Park
Live Stats

The Memphis Tigers
The Tigers head to Nashville with confidence abound after defeating Xavier on Saturday. Sam Ashton recorded a natural hat trick by scoring all three of Memphis' goals in the 3-2 win in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ashton leads the team with five goals on the year.

Ashton now sits near the top of the leaderboards in the American Athletic Conference in numerous categories after his hat trick. The senior is first in the conference with two game-winning goals, tied for second with five total goals and sits fourth with 10 points. Additionally, his five goals are tied for tenth in the NCAA. Ashton was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Xavier.

Aside from Ashton, four other Tigers have netted goals this season, including a pair each from sophomore Gurman Sangha and freshman Jovan Prado. Chris Mikus, who was on the AAC's Honor Roll for recording a pair of assists against Xavier, leads the team with two assists.

Historically, the Tigers are 15-1-1 against Belmont and are undefeated against the Bruins since the second contest between the teams, which was in 1998. Memphis has not allowed a goal from their Nashville neighbor since 2012. In last season's match, Memphis claimed a 3-0 victory in Memphis. Mikus recorded the game winner, scoring the first goal of the evening in the third minute of action.

By starting 3-2-0, Memphis has gotten off to the second-best five-match start under head coach Richard Mulrooney, with the best happening in Mulrooney's first season in 2014, when the team started 3-1-1. The team also started 2016 with a 3-2-0 record through five matches.

A Look at the Bruins
The hosting Belmont Bruins enter with a 0-4-1 record, having dropped their last contest against IPFW. After going down 1-0 in the first half, Niccolo Dagnoni tied the contest up in the 58^th minute, but a late goal from IPFW handed Belmont the loss.

Three Bruins have scored this season, including Dagnoni's most recent score. In the net, Nicolo Dini has logged 380 minutes, currently holding a 1.66 goals against average. Dini has one shutout, a 0-0 draw with Bradley.

Head coach of the Bruins is first-year head coach David Costa. He was previously the associate head coach at Xavier, where he spent two seasons. Prior to his stint in Cincinnati, Ohio, Costa was a top assistant at NC State for six years.

Final Details
Match time against the Bruins is set for 7 p.m. Live stats for the match are available at GoTigersGo.com. For more information on the Memphis men's soccer team, follow the Tigers on Facebook at /MemphisSoccer and on Twitter and Instagram at @MemphisMSoccer.

Tigers End Four-Game Road Swing With Match at Belmont

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Players Mentioned

Sam Ashton

Chris Mikus

Jovan Prado

Gurman Sangha

University of Memphis Athletics