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Nov. 7, 2009

Final Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Thomas Shannon's converted penalty kick, his third of the season, sent the Tiger senior class of Rick Alleman, Brian Farrell and Michael Goodlett off with a victory on Saturday night over the South Carolina Gamecocks, 1-0. With the win the Tigers finish the year with a 7-7-2 record (3-5-0 C-USA). South Carolina ends their season with a 7-8-3 mark.

"A credit to Thomas Shannon because he practices his penalty kicks during every training session," said Memphis head coach Richie Grant. "Last year we were three penalty kicks, no goals. This year we had three penalty kicks and scored three goals. Two of them were game-winning goals. It was nice with alumni weekend and the Tommy Smith banquet and for the seniors to go out with a win."

Memphis' first opportunity came in the sixth minute when Parker Duncan gathered the ball in the penalty area of South Carolina. Duncan's shot went high of the goal.

In the 13the minute, Andreas Guentner, a freshman from Regensburg, Germany, had an opportunity when he gathered the ball right outside the penalty area, but his shot went high of the goal.

In the 31st minute, Duncan had a chance when Jordan Johnson flicked on the ball to his teammate and Duncan put a quick twitch shot on goal, the ball was saved by USC goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer.

South Carolina had a chance in the 40th minute, but his header shot was saved by Michael Goodlett.

The Tigers had a good chance for a goal when Cody McCoy, a midfielder from Knoxville, Tenn., fired a shot from 12 yards out. The ball sailed just high of the right corner of the goal.

Memphis went into the dressing room with a eight to one shot lead on the Gamecocks. The teams were tied 0-0 at half.

Goodlett had one save in the half for the Tigers. Maurer had two saves for South Carolina.

The second half continued to be a physical battle between the two teams. Three yellow cards were awarded in the game. Andreas Guentner earned a caution in the first half. Vance Benson was cautioned in the second half, as was Memphis assistant coach Mark Franklin.

Memphis had an opportunity in the 51st minute when action around the goal took Maurer away from his post. J.J. Greer got the ball and shot it on an open goal, but a USC defender stopped the ball before it could cross the line.

USC had an opportunity in the second frame when Schuyler Reardon got behind the Memphis back four. Reardon put a shot on frame, but the ball was gathered by Goodlett.

Regulation ended with the Tigers and Gamecocks in a 0-0 tie. Both teams had four shots in the period. Memphis had a 12 to five shot lead overall at the end of regulation.

In overtime, the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick when a USC defender touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area. Shannon lined up to take the penalty kick for the third time in the last four games. The native of Broken Arrow, Okla., converted for the third time this season. Shannon was awarded on Friday night as the Tommy Smith award recipient for his work as a sportsman and a good team-oriented player, as well as for his work as a student-athlete on-and-off the pitch.

Goodlett ended his career with his sixth shutout of the season. He had four saves in the contest. The native of Bolton, Miss., ends his four-year career with the third-lowest goals against average of any netmidner in Tiger history, surpassing former Tiger Brooks Monaghan, the current coach of the Memphis women's soccer program.

"It feels great to end my career with a win," Goodlett said. "Obviously to end with a shutout is great. Unfortunately we weren't able to continue on to the Conference USA tournament."

Goodlett, along with fellow seniors Rick Alleman and Michael Goodlett were honored after the game for their impact on the Tiger soccer program over the last four season. The seniors were also honored on Friday night at the Tommy Smith Banquet.

"It feels good, you never what is going to come after soccer," Alleman, the team's senior captain said. "It feels good to get the win and especially a shutout. I've been fortunate enough to start all four years, so I've been able to experience the ups and the downs of the program. I feel lucky enough to be able to have been a part of this team."

On Friday, the 10th annual Tommy Smith Banquet was held at the Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex on Memphis' Park Avenue Campus. The keynote speach, which is usually delived by a former teammate of Tommy Smith, a Memphis alumnus who died suddenly in 2000, was delivered by Joey Lewis.

"It's fun to come back and get involved again," Lewis said. "I don't really know many of the young guys but it feels great to be able to come back and be a part of the program again. It was fun to give the speech. The whole night and the weekend is about Tommy (Smith) , it was fun to be able to talk to the guys and give them a feel for who he was and what type of player (Tommy Smith) was."

Saturday night's game was the final game of the season for the Tigers who will fall short of being eligible for the four team Conference USA tournament. The tournament will be held in Tulsa, Okla., with Tulsa, Marshall, UAB and Kentucky as the four participating teams.