University of Memphis Athletics
Thursday, August 22
Memphis, Tenn.
7 p.m.
University of Memphis
vs
Lipscomb
Photo by: Matthew A. Smith
Tigers Open 2024 Campaign Hosting Lipscomb, Evansville
Aug 21, 2024 | Men's Soccer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After a trio of exhibition matches last week, the University of Memphis men's soccer team and 11th-year head coach Richard Mulrooney are excited to open the regular season this weekend with a pair of home contests.
Thursday officially marks the first match of the 2024 season as the Tigers take on in-state rival Lipscomb at 7 p.m., followed by a battle with Evansville on "Senior Night" Sunday at 6 p.m. Both matches are at the Park Avenue Campus' Billy J. Murphy Track & Soccer Complex. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Tigers were tabbed third in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll by the league's head coaches.
Memphis is coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2023 after finishing 11-6-2 on the year and earning a 2nd-consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers defeated No. 24 SIUE (2-1) in the first round to claim the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, while earning the most wins (11) in a season since 2011.
Despite losing a handful of key members from last year's squad, the Tigers do return a few familiar faces.
Senior defender Jackson Kim, who earned All-AAC First Team and All-East Region Second Team honors a season ago, is back to anchor Memphis' defense that pitched two shutouts and held 11 other opponents to just a single goal in 2023.
Sophomore midfielder Giorgos Kondylis was a unanimous AAA All-Rookie Team selection last season after making 12 starts and netting the game-winner for Memphis over No. 9 Missouri State. He and Kim were tabbed to the preseason all-conference squad last week.
Also returning are sophomore midfielders Dino Stavros (2023 AAC All-Rookie Team) and Anders Bordoy, senior forwards Jose Maria Ojeda and Gabriel Christensen and senior defenders Logan Longo and Cory Pitlik.
Mulrooney and staff went to work this offseason, bringing in 19 new Tigers to the program, including 13 transfers and six freshmen.
Match One: Lipscomb
Memphis will open its season at home for the first time since the 2021 spring season when in-state rival Lipscomb visits the Bluff City Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Tigers and Bisons have met in each of the past three seasons, resulting in a pair of 1-1 draws in 2022 and 2023. Memphis leads the overall series, 8-3-2, dating back to 2000. The Tigers are 5-1-1 in the series at home after drawing No. 12 Lipscomb in the last showdown on Oct. 18, 2022.
Lipscomb is the reigning 3-time champion of the Atlantic Sun and was once again lauded as the preseason favorite last week, earning seven of the league's eight first-place votes.
The Bisons are led by longtime head coach Charles Morrow, who enters his 20th season at the helm. Joining his staff this season is fellow Memphis Tiger midfielder Shane Keely, who is in his first year as an assistant coach for Lipscomb. Keely played his junior and senior seasons in Memphis (2012-13) where he drew 19 starts in 30 career matches while totaling four goals, five assists and 13 total points.
Despite losing key talent from last season's 10-4-4 squad, including the No. 1 (Tyrese Spicer) and No. 8 (Malachi Jones) picks in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, the Bisons are loaded once again with four preseason All-ASUN selections. They are led by ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Javanne Smith, who registered nine goals and two assists last season.
They also boast the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year (George Macready) and Goalkeeper of the Year (Juan Carlos Rodriguez). Rodriguez was a second team All-ASUN honoree as a freshman in 2023 with 59 saves, three shutouts and 10 wins between the pipes.
Match Two: Evansville (Senior Night)
Memphis faces Evansville on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Track & Soccer Complex, but will take a few minutes to honor its seniors in a pregame ceremony around 5:30 p.m.
Memphis and Evansville have met nine times in a series that dates back to 1989, but the two sides have not faced off since 2011. The Tigers trail 3-5-1 all-time, but are 2-2 in Memphis. The last victory at home was a 2-1 decision on Sept. 2, 2007.
The Purple Aces struggled in 2023, finishing 4-8-4 overall after picking up just one win away from home in eight tries. Evansville was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll released on Monday.
Evansville will be under the direction of first-year head coach Robbe Tarver, who was elevated after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach since joining the program in January 2020.
The Aces will be led by fifth-year forward Kai Phillip, who was one of only 11 players selected to the MVC preseason all-conference team. Phillip led Evansville in goals (10) and points (21) last season, which were both good for third-most in the league.
Along with Phillip, UE brings back 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year Nacho Diaz Barragan after he was sidelined with an injury for the majority of last season.
Evansville returns 26 players, including its top three goal scorers from last season. Coach Tarver also bolstered the roster with 14 newcomers (10 freshmen).
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.
Thursday officially marks the first match of the 2024 season as the Tigers take on in-state rival Lipscomb at 7 p.m., followed by a battle with Evansville on "Senior Night" Sunday at 6 p.m. Both matches are at the Park Avenue Campus' Billy J. Murphy Track & Soccer Complex. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Tigers were tabbed third in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll by the league's head coaches.
Memphis is coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2023 after finishing 11-6-2 on the year and earning a 2nd-consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers defeated No. 24 SIUE (2-1) in the first round to claim the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, while earning the most wins (11) in a season since 2011.
Despite losing a handful of key members from last year's squad, the Tigers do return a few familiar faces.
Senior defender Jackson Kim, who earned All-AAC First Team and All-East Region Second Team honors a season ago, is back to anchor Memphis' defense that pitched two shutouts and held 11 other opponents to just a single goal in 2023.
Sophomore midfielder Giorgos Kondylis was a unanimous AAA All-Rookie Team selection last season after making 12 starts and netting the game-winner for Memphis over No. 9 Missouri State. He and Kim were tabbed to the preseason all-conference squad last week.
Also returning are sophomore midfielders Dino Stavros (2023 AAC All-Rookie Team) and Anders Bordoy, senior forwards Jose Maria Ojeda and Gabriel Christensen and senior defenders Logan Longo and Cory Pitlik.
Mulrooney and staff went to work this offseason, bringing in 19 new Tigers to the program, including 13 transfers and six freshmen.
Match One: Lipscomb
Memphis will open its season at home for the first time since the 2021 spring season when in-state rival Lipscomb visits the Bluff City Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Tigers and Bisons have met in each of the past three seasons, resulting in a pair of 1-1 draws in 2022 and 2023. Memphis leads the overall series, 8-3-2, dating back to 2000. The Tigers are 5-1-1 in the series at home after drawing No. 12 Lipscomb in the last showdown on Oct. 18, 2022.
Lipscomb is the reigning 3-time champion of the Atlantic Sun and was once again lauded as the preseason favorite last week, earning seven of the league's eight first-place votes.
The Bisons are led by longtime head coach Charles Morrow, who enters his 20th season at the helm. Joining his staff this season is fellow Memphis Tiger midfielder Shane Keely, who is in his first year as an assistant coach for Lipscomb. Keely played his junior and senior seasons in Memphis (2012-13) where he drew 19 starts in 30 career matches while totaling four goals, five assists and 13 total points.
Despite losing key talent from last season's 10-4-4 squad, including the No. 1 (Tyrese Spicer) and No. 8 (Malachi Jones) picks in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, the Bisons are loaded once again with four preseason All-ASUN selections. They are led by ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Javanne Smith, who registered nine goals and two assists last season.
They also boast the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year (George Macready) and Goalkeeper of the Year (Juan Carlos Rodriguez). Rodriguez was a second team All-ASUN honoree as a freshman in 2023 with 59 saves, three shutouts and 10 wins between the pipes.
Match Two: Evansville (Senior Night)
Memphis faces Evansville on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Track & Soccer Complex, but will take a few minutes to honor its seniors in a pregame ceremony around 5:30 p.m.
Memphis and Evansville have met nine times in a series that dates back to 1989, but the two sides have not faced off since 2011. The Tigers trail 3-5-1 all-time, but are 2-2 in Memphis. The last victory at home was a 2-1 decision on Sept. 2, 2007.
The Purple Aces struggled in 2023, finishing 4-8-4 overall after picking up just one win away from home in eight tries. Evansville was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll released on Monday.
Evansville will be under the direction of first-year head coach Robbe Tarver, who was elevated after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach since joining the program in January 2020.
The Aces will be led by fifth-year forward Kai Phillip, who was one of only 11 players selected to the MVC preseason all-conference team. Phillip led Evansville in goals (10) and points (21) last season, which were both good for third-most in the league.
Along with Phillip, UE brings back 2022 MVC Freshman of the Year Nacho Diaz Barragan after he was sidelined with an injury for the majority of last season.
Evansville returns 26 players, including its top three goal scorers from last season. Coach Tarver also bolstered the roster with 14 newcomers (10 freshmen).
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.
Players Mentioned
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MID
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MID
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MID/DEF
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