Memphis Draws with Florida Atlantic in American Conference Opener

Sunday, September 20

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

4-1-2, 0-0-1

Florida Atlantic

2-0-5, 0-0-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Florida Atlantic	0	2	2
Memphis	1	1	2

Match Notes

Memphis Draws with Florida Atlantic in American Conference Opener

Sep 20, 2026 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In a near mirror matchup, the University of Memphis (4-1-2, 0-0-1 American) men's soccer team drew by a score of 2-2 with Florida Atlantic (2-0-5, 0-0-2 American) in the Tigers' first match of league play Sunday night at the Billy J. Murphy Track & Soccer Complex.

Similarly to Memphis' last match at Furman, the Tigers entered the second half with a one-goal lead, retook the lead after an equalizer by their opponent, and conceded in the final minutes to end in a draw.

KEY MOMENTS

39' – After a few mundane chances for each side, the Tigers set up from a rebounded shot with a cross going in the box off the foot of Zackarya Oumamass, finding the head of Carson Banham to give Memphis a lead that held going into the half.
49' – Early in the second half, a deflected long pass found open space with Florida Atlantic's Justin Bangura poking it past a charging Mathias Christensen to put the match level at a goal apiece.
53' – Memphis answered quickly when Saad Chaouki took a powerful shot from outside the box, deflecting off an Owl defender to find the back of the net and put Memphis back up.
84' – With the Tigers aiming to clear every ball into the area, Florida Atlantic was awarded a late free kick just outside the box after a foul by Miller Lashlee. The Owls' Xavi Csato curled a ball into the box, finding the head of Kevin Gorbell to tie the match.
90' – Memphis' final chance of the match was thwarted when Miller Lashlee was deemed offside after a long pass found his feet in open space.

NOTABLES

Memphis' current four-match unbeaten streak is its longest since a seven-match streak in 2024.
Now with 17 team goals, the Tigers are just two shy of tying their season total from 15 matches last season.
Shots, shots on goal and saves were equal in the match, the first time Memphis had equal statistics to its opponents in all three categories this season.
The Tigers drew in their conference opener for the first time since 2015, also ending in a 2-2 result after two overtimes against UCF.
Tonight's two goals marks Memphis' sixth multi-goal game of the season, surpassing last year's season total and matching the Tigers' total from the 2024 campaign.
Carson Banham moves into the team lead with his fourth goal of the year.
- He remains second in total points with eight, behind Miller Lashlee's nine.
Saad Chaouki scored for the first time since the Tigers' season opener at Belmont.
Zackarya Oumamass logged his first assist as a Tiger on Banham's goal.
Mathias Christensen moves to 0-0-2, matching the Preseason American Conference Goalkeeper of the Year with three saves and two goals against in the match.
Ethan Cook, Junior Saint Juste, Marko Stajnko and Henrique Cruz all played a full 90 minutes in the draw.
- In net, Christensen featured for all 90 minutes for a second consecutive outing.
Four cards were issued in the match, with one to Florida Atlantic's Jaiden Paniagua and three to each of Memphis' Henrique Cruz, Anthony Grudko and Joshua Owens.

UP NEXT
Memphis (4-1-2, 0-0-1 American) heads to the Sunshine State for a Friday night contest against FIU (3-3-1, 0-1-0 American) on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. 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.