No. 15 Tigers Rally to Beat Charlotte, 2-1

Thursday, October 3

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

8-1-1, 3-0-1

Charlotte

1-7-4, 0-2-2

Charlotte

Memphis

Oct 03, 2024 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The No. 15 Memphis women's soccer team registered their first come-from-behind victory of the season, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory over Charlotte on Thursday night at the Track and Soccer Stadium.

Junior Kate Howes scored a wonderfully placed free-kick just before halftime to level the score, and Ai Kitagawa fired the Tigers (8-1-1, 3-0-1 AAC) into the lead in the 55th minute to extend the nation's longest home winning streak to 17 games.

"We stressed urgency to the girls before the game, and honestly we did not get what we wanted to start," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "It took us falling behind to really wake up and start attacking the game. The most important thing is always the three points, especially in these conference games, and we did just enough to get that."

Memphis came out uncharacteristically sluggish, failing to string many passes together in the attacking half. They controlled possession for the first half-hour of the game and logged three shots, but it was Charlotte who struck first on their very first shot, as Tuva Hodne's shot after a cleared corner kick took an aggresive deflection and landed in the bottom-right corner. It was Memphis' first goal conceded in nearly 300 minutes of play.

Falling behind was a jolt to the home team, who began a rampant attack spree against a Charlotte team more than happy to sit behind the ball and defend. In the 42nd minute, Izzy Monck won the ball high up the pitch and drew a foul just outside the box near the right touchline. From a nearly impossible angle, the left-footed Howes chipped a beauty over the goalkeeper and into the top-left corner to equalize just moments before the halftime whistle.

Memphis' momentum carried into the second half, and it only took nine minutes for the Tigers to find their second goal. Anna Hauer won a one-on-one against her defender on the right side and laid it off to Kitagawa; with supporting runners on either side, the defense never fully closed out to her, giving her the space to fire it into the near post for her fourth goal of the season.

The Tigers continued to pile on the pressure looking to put the game to bed, something they haven't quite been able to do as of late. Anne-Valerie Seto's long-rage strike was barely tipped by goalkeeper Emma Wakeman onto the post and out of play in the 59th minute.

Charlotte only mustered four shots, but their final one in the 81st minute was by far the most dangerous, as Macy Bader beat a Tiger defender to earn a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper, only to be denied by senior Kaylie Bierman.

The Tigers will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to take on Temple next Thursday, October 10, at 6 p.m. The game 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.