Tigers Stun Tar Heels with Three First-Half Goals in 3-2 Victory

Monday, August 24

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

2-0-0, 0-0-0

North Carolina

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
North Carolina	2	0	2
Memphis	3	0	3

Tigers Stun Tar Heels with Three First-Half Goals in 3-2 Victory

Aug 24, 2026 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis (2-0-0) men's soccer team picked up its second win of the campaign with a 3-2 win in a modified home opener against RV North Carolina (0-1-1) at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex on Monday.

In a high-energy affair where the Tar Heels dominated first-half possession, the Tigers pounced on multiple loose balls, scoring three on a trio of counterattacks, while holding North Carolina at bay.

KEY MOMENTS

13' – A quick push by the Tar Heels led to Memphis' Junior Saint Juste drawing a foul. On the restart, Memphis countered quickly with Henrique Cruz delivering a cross to the far side of the box where Eben McIntyre found the back of the net.
15' – Less than two full minutes of action later, McIntyre sent a cross into the box himself, finding the head of the helmeted Renan Syrio to give Memphis a two-goal lead just 15 minutes into the action.
22' – North Carolina responded with pressure, putting up three shots in the span of 30 seconds, with one blocked and one saved before Joschi Schelb scored on the second shot's rebound to cut Memphis' lead in half.
35' – After a scuffed shot by Syrio off a Kynu Samuels cross, Carson Banham found the ball at his feet at the doorstep and finished to give the Tigers a two-goal advantage once again.
44' – North Carolina again did not go away quietly as a long pass by Nick Lockermann ended up the tangled feet of Jace Donawa and a Memphis defender, with Donawa skipping a shot in to push the match to 3-2.
72-78' – The second half saw the game get a bit chippy as three yellow cards were issued over the course of less than six minutes of play.
- Cards were issued to Memphis' Keanan Bader and Henrique Cruz, along with one to North Carolina's Joschi Schelb.
- The Tar Heels also had one yellow card overturned after review.
73-74' – The Tar Heels threatened late into the match, with Bertil Rygaard Hansen registering back-to-back shots that required saves by Noah Kasin.
79' – Memphis nearly picked up a fourth goal as an Ethan Cook header was saved when a Tar Heel defender poked it away with the North Carolina goalkeeper out of position.
87-90' – The Tar Heels had a multitude of chances in the final minutes with four throw-ins deep in Memphis territory before a foul drawn by Joshua Owens pulled more time off the clock and an off-target shot by North Carolina's Luca Nikolai sealed the win for the Tigers.

NOTABLES

Tonight's match was the first time the Memphis men's soccer program played at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex since October 27, 2018, when Memphis fell to UCF.
- The match was moved from the Billy J. Murphy Track & Soccer Complex due to power outages on the Park Avenue campus.
- It is also the first win for the Tigers at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex since a 1-0 win during that same 2018 season against Cincinnati.
Tonight's victory over North Carolina marks the first win over an ACC or Big 10 opponent since a 2-1 win at Wisconsin during the 2011 season.
- It is also the Tigers' first win against an ACC opponent since a 2-1 win over Wake Forest in 1985.
- The Tigers also have wins against current ACC members, Louisville and Virginia Tech, but none of those 13 collective wins came when their opponent was a member of the ACC.
Memphis' two wins this season have come against teams that defeated them last season.
Going into the matchup, North Carolina outscored Memphis by a combined 5-0 in the first two matchups in the series, marking this match as the first time the Tigers have scored against the Tar Heels.
- It was also the first home match in the series for Memphis.
Renan Syrio continued to find the scoresheet, picking up a goal and an assist in the win.
- He currently sits as the team's points leader with five through two matches.
Eben McIntyre had his third total outing as a Tiger where he recorded both a goal and an assist.
- He achieved the same feat in contests against Mercer and Tulsa last season.
Transfer Kynu Samuels picked up his first point as a Tiger with an assist off the bench.
- It was the third career assist for the Georgia Southwestern State transfer.
Sophomore forward Carson Banham notched his first collegiate goal in the win off the bench.
Henrique Cruz logged his first point at Memphis with an assist, the third of his collegiate career.
Goalkeeper Noah Kasin moves to 2-0-0 with his second win in as many starts, recording his first save as a Tiger and finishing with four on the night.
Three Tigers (Eben McIntyre, Miller Lashlee, Carson Banham) registered multiple shots in the match.
Defender Jin Tokishi made his Memphis debut, along with midfielder Joshua Owens making his season debut.
Four Tigers (Noah Kasin, Junior Saint Juste, Henrique Cruz, Marko Stajnko) logged a full 90 minutes played in the victory.
A total of three cautions were issued during the match to Memphis' Keanan Bader and Henrique Cruz, along with North Carolina's Joschi Schelb.

UP NEXT
Memphis (2-0-0) hits the road for a pair of back-to-back matchups in the Midwest at Ohio State (2-0-0) on Friday, August 28 and at Butler (0-1-1) on August 31. The Ohio State match will stream on Big 10 Network Plus, with the Butler match 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.