Memphis Looks to Continue Recent Performances at Temple

PHILADELPHIA – Memphis looks to continue its unbeaten streak in conference play as it travels to the Keystone State for a match against the Temple Owls.

Memphis (6-4-1, 3-0-0) comes into tomorrow night's match on a six-match unbeaten streak. During that streak, the Tigers have outscored opponents, 10-3 and find themselves at the top of the American Athletic Conference as the only unbeaten squad in conference play.

Most recently, Memphis completed an upset over then ranked No. 9 Charlotte.

In a defensively oriented match, Adam Yousfi found a weakness in Charlotte's back line, as his shot deflected off a 49er's leg and ended up in the back of the net. The Tigers were able to hold off multiple scoring chances in the final minutes to pull off the upset victory. Yousfi also earned AAC Offensive Player of the Week for scoring this game-winning goal.

Filip Sabatti earned his sixth win of the season between the sticks and has dropped his goal-against-average to exactly 1.00. He recorded three saves against Charlotte in a match where the 49ers had numerous chances but failed to put them on target. Sabatti earned a weekly AAC honorable mention for his performance.

Two more Tigers earned weekly honors in the AAC after their performances against Charlotte. Jackson Kim took home AAC Defensive Player of the Week after stifling the 49er attack and restricting them to only three shots on goal. Another piece of Memphis' stout defense against Charlotte was Ryan Ruguaru. After his second start of the season, Ruguaru was named AAC Freshman of the Week.

Statistically, Memphis is led in goal contributions by Lleyton Imparato, who has eight (four goals, four assists) on the season. Not far behind is defender, Logan Longo, who has three goals and three assists thus far. A key factor of the Tigers' success in the latter half of this season has been consistency. Eight players have appeared in every match, while three Tigers have started in every match. The veteran defensive pairing of Logan Longo and Jackson Kim have started all eleven matches and have played in nearly every minute of every match. Longo leads with 990 minutes played and Kim is close behind with 988 minutes played after temporarily coming off due to injury against UAB.

Temple (2-6-3, 0-2-1) enters Saturday's match on a four-match winless streak. Most recently, the Owls fell 2-0 to South Florida on Oct. 5.

Temple is led in goal contributions by Xavier Rimpel with three (one goal, two assists). No player on the roster has more than one goal, but six different Temple players have scored this season.

Between the pipes, Temple has alternated goalkeepers this season. Flannan Riley has started in six matches, with 31 saves and a 1.55 goals-against-average. Andrew Kempe has made five starts, recording 24 saves and holding a 1.20 goals-against-average. Riley was in net in Temple's most recent match against South Florida.

This series has been as even as possible, with Memphis' record against the Owls sitting at 6-6-2. In recent times, however, the matchup has leaned towards the Tigers. Memphis has won the last four meetings and five of the last six matches between the two teams.

After Saturday's match, Memphis will return home and play host to Missouri State, currently ranked 17^th in the nation, on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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.

Memphis Looks to Continue Recent Performances at Temple

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lleyton Imparato

Jackson Kim

Logan Longo

Ryan Ruguaru

Filip Sabatti

Adam Yousfi

University of Memphis Athletics