Tigers Take on Tar Heels in NCAA Second Round

Sunday, November 19

Chapel Hill, NC

4 p.m.

University of Memphis

North Carolina

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Nov 18, 2023 | Men's Soccer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a historic match at the Track & Soccer Complex that saw the University of Memphis men's soccer team claim its first NCAA Tournament win, the Tigers will travel to North Carolina to face off with the Tar Heels in the Second Round of the tournament.

Kick-off is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. CT in Chapel Hill. Coverage of the match will be made available on ESPN+.

Memphis (11-5-2) continued its streak of historic runs after a 2-1 win over #24 SIUE on Thursday night. In its first NCAA Tournament win in program history, Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos put the Tigers on top in the first half after goals in the 9' and 27' off assists from Anders Bordoy and Elie Bokota. Despite seeing the Cougars score in the 61' to cut into Memphis' lead, Colin Welsh made five saves in route to the win.

"SIUE is a good team, undefeated, and I can see how, and in the end pressed us with only 10 guys," head coach Richard Mulrooneysaid in his post-game press conference. "I'm proud of my guys. That was a complete performance that challenged us in different ways. Overall, absolutely thrilled for the guys."

Along with being the first NCAA Tournament win for the Tigers, Thursday's victory marked the second top-25 win for Memphis this season and broke SIUE's undefeated and unbeaten streaks.

The Tiger's biggest offensive threat has come at the hands of Rodrigues dos Santos, the AAC's Offensive Player of the Year. He leads the team and conference with 14 goals in 18 matches played while ranking fourth in the country in total goals. His eight game-winning goals ranks him first in Division I.

Between the pipes, Welsh made his first appearance since September 29 and recorded five saves in his 15^th win with the Tigers.

North Carolina (10-3-6) is coming off a 1-1 draw with Clemson in the ACC Championship where the Tar Heels would fall to the Tigers after a 5-3 penalty kick decision.

UNC's three losses this season came to then 18^th ranked Syracuse, 4^th ranked Wake Forest and 14^th ranked Virginia.

For the season, Quenzi Huerman and Martin Vician lead the team with a combined 17 goals and six assists while Andrew Cordes has been the Tar Heels go-to between the pipes. Cordes, who has seven of the team's 10 wins recorded this year, has made 54 stops in 1,259 minutes of work while boasting a 0.50 goals-against average.

Sunday's match will be the first meeting between Memphis and North Carolina.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Soccer, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.