Men's Soccer Drops Decision To USF Saturday

Saturday, March 13

Memphis, Tenn.

5:30 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-4-0, 1-4-0

USF

4-2-0, 4-2-0

South Fla.

Memphis

Michael Chappelear, 2020-21 Men's Soccer

Photo by: Eric Glemser

Mar 13, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Memphis-USF Boxscore

Chappelear nets first goal as a Tiger.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. –University of Memphis sophomore Michael Chappelear netted his first goal as a Tiger against USF Saturday, but it wasn't enough in a 3-1 American Athletic Conference setback to the Bulls. The match was played at the Billy J. Murphy Soccer/Track and Field Complex on the University' Park Avenue campus.

With the loss, Memphis falls to 1-4 overall and 1-4 in the AAC. The Bulls improve to 4-2 overall and 4-2 in the league. Saturday's home match was the UofM's first in more than a month.

"We're obviously disappointed, but give credit to USF," said head coach Richard Mulrooney. "We had too many unforced errors, too many critical errors. We need to see what kind of reaction we have after this, what type of character we have, does this bother us? All three should affect us in a way that picks up our play."

USF played aggressive from the start and outshot the Tigers 11-4 in the first half. Five of the Bulls' 11 shot attempts came in the match's opening 11 minutes, with the last in that stretch resulting in a Jeffrey Copper goal from 15 yards out on the right side of the box. The score came on a rebound off a Parker Lackland save of a Richard Laval shot attempt.

Three minutes later, Josue Monge converted a penalty kick to give USF a 2-0 advantage. The Bulls' final goal came 30 minutes in when Oscar Resano slid the ball under Lackland from 15 yards out on the right side of the box.

The second half proved to be a different story, with the Tigers attacking more often. The UofM outshot USF 8-7 after the intermission.

Chappelear, a transfer from USC Upstate, accounted for three of the Tigers' eight second-half shot attempts. His first shot of the second half found the back of the net in the 65^thminute to slice the USF lead to 3-1. The goal was Chappelear's third collegiate score, as he netted two goals as a Spartan in 2019.

Chappelear's other two attempts just missed the net. His second was just wide, and the third was over the cross bar.

The Bulls held an 18-12 advantage in shots, but the Tigers had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Lackland collected a season-best six saves, and USF goalkeeper Kazuna Takase had three stops.

"We have to get back at it tomorrow. We have a lot of things to work on," Mulrooney said. "We have a quick turnaround. We play at Tulsa Wednesday and then face them again next Sunday (at home), and they are playing well.

"We're not eliminated (from the conference tournament). There are still points to be had. We have to look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable."

For more information on the Memphis men's soccer team, follow the Tigers on Facebook (/MemphisSoccer), Twitter (@MemphisMSoccer) and Instagram (@MemphisMSoccer).