University of Memphis Athletics
Monday, August 24
Memphis, Tenn.
7 p.m.
University of Memphis
vs
North Carolina
Photo by: Steven Spehar
Memphis to Host North Carolina in Home Opener Monday
Aug 23, 2026 | Men's Soccer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fresh off a win in its season opener at Belmont, the University of Memphis men's soccer team will host the RV North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Track & Soccer Complex.
The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a Wear White theme. At the match, the first 150 fans in attendance will receiving a white Memphis men's soccer t-shirt and there will be dollar hot dogs for students, along with inflatable jumpers and face painting stations for kids.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis (1-0-0) enters the Monday night matchup after securing a dominant 2-0 win at Belmont in its season opener. In the victory, Renan Syrio and Saad Chaouki both scored in the second half as the Tigers registered 10 more shots as a team than the Bruins.
In the opener, the Tigers had 10 players make their Memphis debuts, including a brand-new back line that played a combined 264 minutes out of a possible 270 in Junior Saint Juste, Marko Stajnko and Ethan Cook. A pair of Tigers, Eben McIntyre and Dino Stavros, shined in wide roles and depth in the midfield and forwards kept Memphis fresh throughout the match.
Memphis' depth showed strongly throughout the middle channel of the pitch with a total of three forwards and seven midfielders seeing action last Thursday.
Junior goalkeeper Noah Kasin looked confident in net with a clean sheet despite not needing to register a save in his debut. The Georgia Southwestern State transfer picked up his eighth collegiate win in his debut and was one of four Tigers to log a full 90 minutes played.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina (0-0-1) is coming off a solid performance in a 1-1 draw against No. 5 Georgetown. After the Tar Heels took the lead seven minutes in, the Hoyas equalized in the 60th minute and held the tie on nearly equal shooting statistics.
The Tar Heels' goal scorer in the opener was former All-Big Ten second teamer at Rutgers and All-NEC first-teamer at Saint Francis, Joschi Schelb. Schelb found his way to North Carolina after a seven-goal, four-assist season with the Scarlet Knights. North Carolina features a squad full of successful transfers and players with both amateur and professional experience. Those transfers include a pair of national champions in Ryan Zellefrow and Nick Lockermann, who both joined the program from Vermont and were members of the Catamounts' 2024 championship squad.
Matching Memphis' previous opponent, Belmont, the Tar Heels featured a keeper making his collegiate debut during the opening day of action in redshirt freshman Alan Rutkowski. The Elmwood Park, New Jersey native recorded five saves and carried a save percentage of .833 and was on the Tar Heels' roster during last season's 3-0 contest in favor of North Carolina but did not appear in any competitions last year.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA
Monday will mark just the third meeting between the two programs, with North Carolina winning both by a combined total of 5-0. It will be the first time the Tigers and Tar Heels will play a contest in Memphis.
Last season, the Tar Heels picked up a 3-0 win in Chapel Hill in a nonconference matchup. The first game in the all-time series was a 2-0 defeat in Chapel Hill during the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tigers Men's Soccer, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a Wear White theme. At the match, the first 150 fans in attendance will receiving a white Memphis men's soccer t-shirt and there will be dollar hot dogs for students, along with inflatable jumpers and face painting stations for kids.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis (1-0-0) enters the Monday night matchup after securing a dominant 2-0 win at Belmont in its season opener. In the victory, Renan Syrio and Saad Chaouki both scored in the second half as the Tigers registered 10 more shots as a team than the Bruins.
In the opener, the Tigers had 10 players make their Memphis debuts, including a brand-new back line that played a combined 264 minutes out of a possible 270 in Junior Saint Juste, Marko Stajnko and Ethan Cook. A pair of Tigers, Eben McIntyre and Dino Stavros, shined in wide roles and depth in the midfield and forwards kept Memphis fresh throughout the match.
Memphis' depth showed strongly throughout the middle channel of the pitch with a total of three forwards and seven midfielders seeing action last Thursday.
Junior goalkeeper Noah Kasin looked confident in net with a clean sheet despite not needing to register a save in his debut. The Georgia Southwestern State transfer picked up his eighth collegiate win in his debut and was one of four Tigers to log a full 90 minutes played.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina (0-0-1) is coming off a solid performance in a 1-1 draw against No. 5 Georgetown. After the Tar Heels took the lead seven minutes in, the Hoyas equalized in the 60th minute and held the tie on nearly equal shooting statistics.
The Tar Heels' goal scorer in the opener was former All-Big Ten second teamer at Rutgers and All-NEC first-teamer at Saint Francis, Joschi Schelb. Schelb found his way to North Carolina after a seven-goal, four-assist season with the Scarlet Knights. North Carolina features a squad full of successful transfers and players with both amateur and professional experience. Those transfers include a pair of national champions in Ryan Zellefrow and Nick Lockermann, who both joined the program from Vermont and were members of the Catamounts' 2024 championship squad.
Matching Memphis' previous opponent, Belmont, the Tar Heels featured a keeper making his collegiate debut during the opening day of action in redshirt freshman Alan Rutkowski. The Elmwood Park, New Jersey native recorded five saves and carried a save percentage of .833 and was on the Tar Heels' roster during last season's 3-0 contest in favor of North Carolina but did not appear in any competitions last year.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA
Monday will mark just the third meeting between the two programs, with North Carolina winning both by a combined total of 5-0. It will be the first time the Tigers and Tar Heels will play a contest in Memphis.
Last season, the Tar Heels picked up a 3-0 win in Chapel Hill in a nonconference matchup. The first game in the all-time series was a 2-0 defeat in Chapel Hill during the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tigers Men's Soccer, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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