| |
|
Game #19 - Memphis (12-6-0, 6-3-0 C-USA) vs. UTEP (17-2-1, 6-2-1 C-USA)
Wednesday, November 2 • 2:30 p.m.
Rice Soccer/Track Stadium (5,000) • Houston, Texas
* Game #20 - Memphis vs. UCF (11-9-0, 8-1-0 C-USA) or Houston (8-6-3, 3-4-2 C-USA)
Friday, November 4 • 5:00/7:30 p.m.
Rice Soccer/Track Stadium (5,000) • Houston, Texas
* Game #21 - Memphis vs. SMU/East Carolina/Rice/UAB
Sunday, November 6 • 1:00 p.m.
Rice Soccer/Track Stadium (5,000) • Houston, Texas
* If necessary
This Week
Memphis heads back to the Conference USA Tournament for the second straight year, this time as the #5 seed, two spots better than last year, and will face the #4 seed UTEP Miners in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, November 2 at 2:30 p.m. If victorious, the Tigers will face the winner of the UCF/Houston game on Friday at either 5:00 or 7:30 p.m. If once again victorious, then Memphis will play in the C-USA Championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Looking Ahead
If the Tigers qualify for the NCAA Tournament, first and second round games will be held next weekend, November 11-13. If not, then Memphis' season will be finished and regardless of the outcome at the tournament will be the most successful in school history in terms of wins.
Series vs. UTEP
The Tigers and Miners met for the first time in the programs' history this year back on October 2, with UTEP winning to gain a 1-0 advantage in the series.
Other Series Histories
Please see the box on the right
Scouting UTEP
UTEP leads Conference USA in points (158) and goals (57), just edging out the Tigers, who second in both categories. They are also second to the Tigers in assists (44). Melissa Abraham leads the Miners and is tied with Memphis' Shoko Mikami for the league lead in goals with 14 while Jami Tullius has 13 goals, five of which were game-winners, which led the conference. Kia Sams has nine assists, which were second in C-USA to Mikami's 10. Brittany Popoff has received the majority of time between the pipes and has a 0.98 goals against average. As a team, the Miners led C-USA in goals against average at 0.98, just ahead of Memphis' 0.99. The Miners did not lose a game all season until October 14 at SMU. Their only other loss this year was to Rice and they also tied with UAB. UTEP has not been shutout this year.
The Coaches
Brooks Monaghan (Memphis, 1994) is in his sixth year as head coach at Memphis, where he holds a 50-58-5 career record. Prior to his tenure as head coach, he was the assistant coach in charge of goalkeepers for five years, serving since the program's inception in 1995. Just the second head coach in program history, Monaghan became the program's all-time winningest coach last year with his 35th career win.
Kevin Cross (Austin College, 1995) is in his fifth season as head at UTEP, where he holds a 60-29-4 career record. He has led the Miners to 57 wins over the past three years plus this year and now four consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. His teams have made the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament in each of the last three years and the Miners finished in second place in the WAC in both 2002 and last season.
Tigers Gain Best Seed and Best C-USA Finish Ever
Memphis' fifth place finish and subsequent #5 seed in the conference tournament is the its best ever finish and seed in the C-USA Tournament in program history. Their best finish and seed prior to this year was a sixth place finish and #6 seed in C-USA's first year of existence in 1995. The Tigers have also had the #7 and #8 seeds in the past. Listed below is Memphis' finish and seed number in the previous years it has qualified for the C-USA Tournament.
Year Finish Seed
1995 6th 6
1996 7th 7
1997 7th 7
2002 T8th 8
2004 7th 7
Improvement on the Road This Year
By splitting their final two games on the road this past weekend, Memphis finished the year with a winning record on the road for the first time in program history. The Tigers finished with a 4-3 road record this year. Previously, Memphis' best road record was 4-5 last year. The Tigers also won three straight road games for the second time in school history, equaling their record of three straight road wins set last year. Prior to last year, Memphis had never won back-to-back road games in program history. Now, the Tigers have won three straight road games in back-to-back years.
Tigers Set New Win Record
The win over Tulsa on Friday was the 12th win of the year for Memphis, setting a new school record for most victories in a season. The previous mark was 11, set both last year and in 1997.
Three Straight
Freshman midfielder Emiko Schwab became the third different player to score a goal in three straight games this year with goals vs. Southern Miss, Tulsa, and SMU. She joined Shoko Mikami and Kylie Hayes, who did it in six straight games. It was the ninth time that this was accomplished in school history and she also became just the eighth player in program history to score a goal in three straight games. Listed below are the players in Tiger history that recorded goals in at least three straight games.
Name Year
Emiko Schwab 2005
Shoko Mikami 2005
Kylie Hayes (6 straight) 2005
Alison Baker 2002
Alison Baker 2001
Becca Amrozowicz 1999
Jennifer Vossen 1996
Christy Caswell 1996
Meredith Smith (4 straight) 1996
Briones Breaks Goalkeeping Record
Sophomore goalkeeper Isabel Briones broke the school record for goalkeeping wins in a season with her 11th of the year in the 1-0 win over Tulsa. The previous mark was 10 and was set by Natalie Haerens last year. Briones also tied the record for goalkeeping shutouts in a year with her sixth against Tulsa. Haerens also set that mark last year.
Keeping Them Close
Memphis has lost six games this year but all have been by just one goal. The Tigers are yet to drop a game by more than one goal this year, making them the only team in Conference USA to accomplish this feat. The Tigers are also one of just 21teams in the country that have not yet lost a game by more than one goal. Listed below are all 21 teams, their conference, and overall record.
Team Conference Record
Alabama A&M SWAC 14-2-1
Ball State MAC 15-3-1
Brown Ivy 5-9-2
BYU Mountain West 15-1-3
Duke ACC 12-4-1
Lehigh Patriot 14-2-1
Memphis Conference USA 12-6-0
Niagara MAAC 16-2-2
North Carolina ACC 17-1-0
Old Dominion CAA 12-6-0
Ole Miss SEC 14-3-2
Penn State Big Ten 19-0-0
Peppderdine West Coast 12-3-3
Portland West Coast 17-0-1
Purdue Big Ten 11-6-1
Saint Louis Atlantic 10 13-4-0
Samford Ohio Valley 14-3-2
Texas A&M Big 12 13-3-2
UCLA Pac 10 15-1-2
UNC-Greensboro Southern 10-6-1
Yale Ivy 11-3-1
Monaghan Wins 50th Career Game
Memphis head coach Brooks Monaghan picked up his 50th career win with the 5-1 win over Southern Miss earlier this year. Only the second coach in program history, Monaghan surpassed the only other coach, Les Szabo, in wins last year.
Mikami Named C-USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Shoko Mikami, who ended the year leading Conference USA in assists and points by herself and co-leading C-USA in goals, was named the Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week on October 17. Mikami recorded the game-winning goal and assisted on the game-tying goal with five seconds remaining in the win over East Carolina. She then assisted on three goals in the win over Southern Miss. She is the first Tiger to pick up a conference offensive player of the week award since Yuiko Konno in 2003. She shared the award with Caitlin Robbins of Rice.
Records In Danger of Being Broken
With all its offensive prowess this year, Memphis has several individual and team season records that have either already fallen or that very well could fall by the end of the year. Shoko Mikami inched closer to breaking individual record for points in a season this past weekend, while Isabel Briones has already broken one, tied another, and has one more goalie record within her reach. The Tigers as a team are also in second place in school history in three offensive categories and on pace to break three others. The box on the right lists these records.
First-Timers
If Memphis did not have to play any opponents for the first time ever this year, they might have been better off. The Tigers played five opponents this year that they were facing for the first time in program history and ended the year with a 1-4-0 record against those opponents. The Tigers lost to Samford, UTEP, UCF, and SMU, and defeated only Marshall. Of the other seven teams in the tournament field, Rice is the only team that the Tigers have never met.
Conference Champions
This year, the Tigers faced four teams that won either their regular season or conference tournament championship last year. Memphis finished with a 2-2 record against these teams, beating UAB (C-USA Tournament) and Middle Tennessee (regular season Sun Belt) while losing to Samford (regular season Ohio Valley) and SMU (regular season and tournament WAC).
Multiplying Multiples
Last year, Memphis individuals only recorded two multiple-goal matches the entire year. This year, Memphis individuals had seven multiple-goal matches this year. Listed below are the players that have recorded multiple-goal matches this year.
Name (Goals) Opponent (Date)
Asuka Kubota (2) Tenn. Tech (8-28)
Shoko Mikami (2) Tenn. Tech (8-28)
Kylie Hayes (2) Evansville (9-4)
Shoko Mikami (3) Middle Tenn. (9-18)
Shoko Mikami (3) Tulane (9-30)
Kylie Hayes (2) Southern Miss (10-23)
Emiko Schwab (2) Southern Miss (10-23)
Back-to-Back
Memphis' individuals have scored goals in back-to-back games six times this year. Shoko Mikami has done it three times, Kylie Hayes has done it once (six straight games), Melissa Savage also did it once, and Emiko Schwab was the latest to do it with goals against Southern Miss, Tulsa, and SMU for a three-game streak. Last year, Tiger individuals only scored goals in back-to-back games three times.
Mikami Records Three Assists
Though she has been more known for scoring goals this year, junior forward Shoko Mikami recorded a career-high three assists in the win over Southern Miss on October 23. Mikami's three assists marked the first time that a Memphis player has recorded three assists in a game since Annika Moller had three against Alabama A&M in 2003.
Savage Comes on Strong
After not recording a single point in Memphis' first 11 games, junior midfielder Melissa Savage came on strong over the next five games, recording six points (2g, 2a) in those games. She recorded at least one point in four games of that five game stretch. This included back-to-back game-winning goals against Marshall and UAB, as well as her first assist since 2003, which came on the game-winning goal at East Carolina. She also recorded another assist in the win over Southern Miss.
Spreading the Wealth
Memphis has had 19 different players record at least one point this year and 12 different players record a goal. Only five players that have seen action this year have not recorded a point. Last year, only 16 different players recorded points, however there was still more diversity in goal scoring as 14 different players had at least one goal.
No First Score, No Problem
Memphis' 2-1 win over East Carolina was the first game all year that the Tigers won when their opponent scored first. Memphis had been 0-4 so far this year when its opponent scored first and had also lost its last 13 games dating back to 2003 when its opponent scored first. The last game Memphis won when its opponent scored first prior to East Carolina was against Southern Miss on October 19, 2003, a 3-2 win over the Golden Eagles.
First Score, But Problem
The 2-1 loss to SMU was the first loss of the year for the Tigers when they scored first. Memphis had won 12 straight games when scoring first dating back to last year,including the first 11 of this year when doing so. Their last loss prior to Sunday when scoring first was against UAB last year, on October 17.
Halvorson Picks the Right Time
Sophomore midfielder Candace Halvorson couldn't have picked a better time for her first goal of the season, as she scored the game-tying goal with just five seconds remaining to send the Tigers to overtime against East Carolina, where they won it on a goal by Shoko Mikami. It was just the second goal of Halvorson's career. Oddly enough, both of her goals have come in the month of October and both have come against schools from North Carolina: vs. East Carolina this year and against Charlotte last year.
Mike Rose - Where C-USA Champs go Down
The win over UAB marked the second straight year that the defending Conference USA champion from the previous season had come to the Mike Rose Soccer Complex for a regular season game and left with a loss. Last year, DePaul, which had won the conference crown in 2003, opened conference play with the Tigers and also left with a one goal loss.
Tigers Break UAB Losing Streak
The win over UAB also broke a three-game losing streak to the Blazers, which included two losses last season, one in the conference tournament. The win was Memphis' first over UAB since the 2002 season, which was also the last time that the two teams played in Memphis prior to last Friday.
Briones Awarded Second Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week
Sophomore goalkeeper Isabel Briones was named the Conference USA co-Defensive Player of the Week after her shutout against UAB. It was her second C-USA Defensive Player of the Week award this year. Earlier this year, she garnered the award after shutting out both UT-Martin and Missouri State in the same week.
Mississauga Duo Comes Through
The freshman duo of Joanna Alexopulos and Alexandra Atkinson are both from Mississauga, Ontario and were club teammates prior to coming to Memphis. The duo played a big part in Memphis' 2-1 win at Marshall. Alexopulos drew the start at goalkeeper, her first-ever game at goalkeeper in her career, and came up with the win, making four saves and only allowing one goal, which came on a penalty kick. Atkinson, meanwhile, a center defender who has started all 16 games this year, played steadily on the defensive end of the field to help out her first-time goalie and also assisted on both of Memphis' goals in the game.
Dynamic Duo
So far this year, it is nearly a sure bet that either Kylie Hayes or Shoko Mikami or both will score a goal each game for the Tigers. At least one of them has recorded at least one goal in 13 of the 18 games so far this year and they have scored in the same game in six of the Tigers' 18 games.
Two of the games in which neither of them scored, the Tigers were shutout in. The only other games that neither of them scored in was vs. UAB, Tulsa, and SMU.
Iron Women
With the regular season over, Memphis has just three players that have played in and started every game this year. Only Kylie Hayes and half of the defensive backfield of Alexandra Atkinson and Halley Jo Sullivan have started every game for the Tigers this season.
Mikami Records Second Hat Trick
Junior forward Shoko Mikami recorded her second hat trick of the year and second in three games with three goals against Tulane. Mikami, who had become the first Tiger to record a hat trick since Jessica Gjertsen in 2000 when she turned the trick against Middle Tennessee on September 18, became the first player to record two hat tricks in a season since Gjertsen did in 2000. Gjertsen had three hat tricks in 2000 while the Tigers as a team had four with Candice Spiniolas having the other.
Tigers Top 2004 Totals in 10th Game
Memphis surpassed its total of 84 points from all of last year in just its 10th game. Currently, the Tigers have 141 points on the year. Memphis also has surpassed its goal total from last year (28) and assist total from 2004 as well (28), which came in 19 games. Memphis now has 46 goals and 49 assists on the year in 18 games. The Tigers have also recorded at least one goal in 22 of the 36 halves they have played this year, not including overtime periods.
Long Time Coming
It only took 58 career games to do it, but senior defender Courtnee Melton recorded her first career goal in the 6-0 win over Tulane. Melton, one of two seniors on the team this year and a local product out of Bartlett, Tenn., scored Memphis' second goal of the game. It was also her first points in nearly three years, as her only career points before the Tulane game were two assists she recorded as a freshman in 2002.
Hayes Sets Record with Streak
Earlier this year, freshman forward Kylie Hayes made history by becoming the first player in school history to score a goal in both five and six straight games. The previous record for consecutive games with a goal was held by Meredith Smith, who scored in four straight games in 1996.
More Offensive Facts
- Last year, Memphis' top point producer had just 15 points all season long. This year, its point leader, Shoko Mikami, has 38 points. Two others have also passed that as Kylie Hayes has 29 points and Asuka Kubota 17 points.
- Last year's top goal scorers on the team each had only six goals apiece. This year, Mikami has 14 goals and Hayes has scored 12 goals.
- Last year's assist leader had just six assists. This year, both Shoko Mikami and Asuka Kubota have already passed that with 10 and seven assists, respectively, while Nicky McLeod has equalled it with six assists. Kylie Hayes also has five assists.
Tigers Set Mike Rose Attendance Record
With a crowd of 739 at the Ole Miss game, Memphis set a record for home attendance at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. It was also the second-largest home crowd ever for the women's soccer program.
Close Together
Memphis' second and third goals against UT-Martin were scored just :15 seconds apart. Last year, the least amount of time in between goals was 2:20 between goals by Madison Cheek and Caroline Barrett against Alabama A&M.
Now That's Efficiency
Not only did freshman Sarah MacGregor record her first career point by assisting on Asuka Kubota's first Memphis goal against Tennessee Tech, but she also recorded the assist just :29 seconds after entering the game as a substitute.
Now That's Really Efficient
Freshman Lauren Everhart topped MacGregor's feat by recording her first career point just :10 seconds after entering the game against Missouri State. She stole a goal kick by MSU's goalie and dished to Shoko Mikami for a goal and her first career assist.
Still, neither topped last year's quickest point, which went to Elaine Sedgewick, who assisted on a Mary Shelton goal just :06 seconds after entering the game in Memphis' 5-1 win over Charlotte on October 8th.
Neutral Success
The win over Evansville was Memphis' first win on a neutral field since the 1997 season and the first ever win in program history on a neutral field during the regular season. Memphis' only two previous wins on neutral fields came in the 1996 and 1997 seasons and both were Conference USA Tournament games. The Tigers now have a 3-5-1 all-time record on neutral fields.
Mikami Surpasses 2004 in One Game
Shoko Mikami, who led the nation in scoring in Division II while playing at Christian Brothers University two years ago, surpassed both her point and goal totals from last year in just one game by scoring two goals and recording one assist for five points against Tennessee Tech. She had just three points (1g, 1a) last year while playing in just 11 games after recovering from a knee injury for much of the first half of the season.
Long Time Coming
The seven goals scored by Memphis against Tennessee Tech were the most since a 9-0 win over Rhodes on September 1, 1999, which was also the season opener that year. The seven-goal margin of victory was also the most since that same game.
Another Shutout
For the second straight year, Memphis recorded a shutout on opening day. It was also the fourth time in school history that the Tigers won in a shutout on opening day.
Goalie Helps Out
Goalkeeper Isabel Briones did something against Tennessee Tech that rarely happens for a goalie, and it was just the second time in Memphis women's soccer history that it happened. She recorded an assist. She assisted on Shoko Mikami's second goal of the day by punting the ball well beyond midfield after making a save. The punt was played out of the air by Kylie Hayes, who dribbled with it before dishing to Mikami for the score. The only other time in program history that a goalie recorded a point was when goalkeeper Heather Chinellato recorded an assist during the 1998 season.
Recruiting Class Ranked Highest Ever at Memphis
The incoming recruiting class of this year, consisting of 14 freshman and one sophomore transfer, was ranked 27th in the country by Soccer Buzz, the highest ever ranking for Memphis. The Tiger newcomers were the highest ranked team in Conference USA in the rankings and they were also ranked eighth in the Central Region. Below is a list of how other C-USA teams ranked in the national rankings, followed by teams that were ranked in their region.
National
27. Memphis
42. Rice
44. UCF
70. SMU
72. Tulane
76. UAB
96. UTEP
Regional
8. Memphis (Central)
8. UCF (Southeast)
13. Rice (Central)
13. UAB (Southeast)
17. SMU (Central)
19. Tulane (Central)
23. UTEP (Central)
23. East Carolina (Southeast)
From National Team to Memphis
Three newcomers on the Tigers have come to Memphis with national team experience for their respective countries. Sophomore Asuka Kubota played on the Japanese Under-19 National Team, freshman Joanna Alexopulos played for the Canadian Under-17 National Team, while freshman Aika Young is a member of the Guam National Team.
Alaskan Pipeline to Memphis
Memphis has a very diverse roster, boasting representatives from 10 states and five countries. One of the more unique things about the Lady Tigers is that two members hail from the State of Alaska, which is remarkable considering that Memphis is over 4,000 miles from Anchorage, where both sophomore Halley Jo Sullivan and freshman Kate Murphy hail from. According to research conducted by Matt Beltz of the Memphis athletic media relations office, Memphis is one of only three Division I women's soccer teams in the country that have at least two players from Alaska on its roster. The only other teams in the country that have as many players from Alaska as Memphis are Montana and Valparaiso, which both have three players each from The Last Frontier.
From All Corners of the World
For the second straight year, the Memphis roster has representatives from a number of different states and countries. Last year, the Tigers had players from 12 different states and five different countries on their roster and 40 percent of the roster was made up of foreign players. This year, Memphis has representatives from 10 different states and five different countries and just over 30 percent of the roster is made up of foreign players.
|
