Tigers Play Dolphins to a Draw Sunday Night

Sunday, September 7

Jacksonville, Fla.

5:00 p.m.

University of Memphis

1-2-3, 0-0-0

Jacksonville

2-2-1, 0-0-0

Memphis

Jacksonville

Photo by: Reily Rogers

Sep 07, 2025 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Memphis (1-2-3) men's soccer played its final match before the beginning of American Conference play and earned a draw against Jacksonville (2-2-1) at Southern Oak Stadium Sunday night.

An early foul in the box gave Memphis a chance to gain an early lead, but the attempt caromed off the post. Memphis played a clean game and outpaced Jacksonville in shots-on-goal, but the scoreless result held.

KEY MOMENTS

23' – A crucial moment for the Tigers in the early part of the first half as Carson Banham was fouled in the box by Jacksonville defender Simon Libert, awarding Memphis a penalty attempt.
- Luciano Galizzi stepped up to take the penalty and hit the right post, keeping the match scoreless.
41' – Jacksonville's Juan Pablo Gonzalez had back-to-back shots in the box that were blocked by the Memphis back line, forcing a corner kick that was cleared.
46' – The Dolphins had an early opportunity as Dante Wright was open on the right side of the box, but Jakob Buhrkuhl held his ground and sent the shot out for a corner kick.
- It was Buhrkuhl's first save as a Tiger after transferring from Lee University.
61' – A foul just outside the 18-yard box gave Jacksonville a free kick that would sail high over the net.
81' – A yellow card assessed to Jacksonville's Diego Valles led to a free kick attempt for the Tigers, but the cross attempt went through the box for a Jacksonville goal kick.
87' – A long throw-in bounced to the feet of Saad Chaouki, who put a shot on net that was saved by Jacksonville's Simen Havig.
- Memphis had another chance seconds later that began with play by Saad Chaouki but was stalled when Miller Lashlee was dispossessed in the box.

NOTABLES

Memphis will enter conference play with a .417 winning percentage (1-2-3 record), compared to a .357 winning percentage (2-4-1 record) going into American play last season.
The match was level in terms of shots (seven each), but Memphis led in shots on goal, 4-to-2.
- Both goalkeepers recorded their first clean sheets of their respective seasons.
Ruadhan Feeney and Jakob Buhrkuhl made their first starts of the season in defense and in net, respectively.
- Buhrkuhl recorded a clean sheet in his first start and appearance in his first season with the Tigers.
Memphis was awarded its first penalty kick since last season's match at Temple on Oct. 12.
- The Tigers have not successfully converted a penalty attempt since Oct. 14, 2023 against UAB.
Memphis' freshman starting streak continues as Ignacio Escamilla and Carson Banham were in the starting 11 for the Tigers.
- Escamilla has started each of the last four matches, but Banham holds a narrow lead for minutes played by a freshman with 245.
Four Tigers (Jakob Buhrkuhl, Dino Stavros, Ryan Ruguaru, Fletcher Hedge) played a full 90 minutes in the draw.
- Stavros leads all Memphis players with 496 minutes played this season.
Five yellow cards were issued to Jacksonville in the contest, with Matias Tobon, Sacha De Corte, Romain Spailier, Diego Valles and head coach Ali Simmons being assessed cards.
- Ryan Ruguaru was the only Tiger to be assessed a yellow card in the draw.

UP NEXT
Memphis returns home for the first match of American Conference play against the FIU (1-2-2) Panthers. The conference opener is set for a 7 p.m. kick and 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.