No. 16 Tigers Thump Rice, 4-1, to Move One Win Away From Regular Season Title

Thursday, October 24

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

11-1-2, 6-0-2

Rice

11-3-2, 5-2-1

Rice

Memphis

No. 16 Tigers Thump Rice, 4-1, to Move One Win Away From Regular Season Title

Oct 24, 2024 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 16 Memphis women's soccer team grabbed an early goal and never looked back, scoring four times in a decisive 4-1 victory over Rice on Thursday night at the Track and Soccer Stadium.

The Tigers (11-1-2, 6-0-2 AAC) are now three points away from at least a share of the AAC regular season title with two games remaining. Taking four points from those two matches – a win and a draw – would see them in sole possession of the trophy for the second consecutive year.

"It felt like we hadn't brought the fire and energy that we needed at the start of the matches, and that's something we challenged the girls to do," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "It was nice to not only grab the bull by the horns early in the match, but to turn it into a goal. We switched off at times which led to a goal for them, but I am proud of the performance and effort."

Memphis tested Rice goalkeeper Faith Hutchins early and often, forcing two saves in the first five minutes and seven overall. The early breakthrough came off a perfectly executed set piece when Anne-Valerie Seto headed a free-kick into the box for Ashley Henderson to bury in the 12th minute. Izzy Monck, who would exit the game early with a rib injury, was also credited with the assist from her curling delivery.

Rice settled into the game at around the 20-minute mark and nearly scored on a breakaway, but Tiger goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman negated the opportunity. The halftime whistle ended a tightly contested 45 minutes that felt available for either team to grab control of.

Memphis was the team that struck next right out of halftime, as Camber Hayes curled a cross into the penalty area which Momo Nakao leaped to beat the keeper to, doubling the Tiger lead and giving the midfielder three goals on the year.

The two-goal advantage lasted for less than a minute, as Rice midfielder Camille Quarterman scored a long-distance goal in transition to cut the deficit in half. Memphis' set-piece dominance ultimately the story, as the Tigers turned another corner kick into a goal, this time via Ally Casey who pounced on a loose ball in the 65th minute, the first collegiate goal for the freshman.

Nakao was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty just minutes later, but her attempt was saved by a diving Hutchins. Seto, whose aerial prowess helped open the score an hour earlier, got herself a goal from a header off another well-worked corner routine, with Ai Kitagawa getting her fourth assist of the year to make the lead 4-1.

The Tigers will head to Denton, Texas, to play North Texas on Sunday evening 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.