Nov. 12, 2008

Final Stats

DALLAS, Texas -

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The Memphis Tigers wrapped up their 2008 campaign with a 1-0 loss to the UCF Knights on Wednesday afternoon at the C-USA Conference Tournament at Westcott Field in Dallas, Texas. With the loss, the U of M ends the season with an overall record of 6-11-2. With the win, UCF improved their overall record to 7-10-1. The Knights move on to the second round of the tournament on Friday where they will face the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats.

The Tigers have failed to win a conference tournament match since they defeated the UAB Blazers in the first round of the 2005 Conference USA Tournament. A year prior, the U of M upended UAB to be crowned the 2004 Conference USA Tournament Champion.

The UCF Knights got on the board in the first minute of the game on freshman Kyle McEntee's third goal of the season. McEntee gathered the ball off of a Kevan George miss which was saved by Memphis goalie Michael Goodlett. Goodlett was unable to wrangle up the ball, and McEntee was there for the rebound. The assist was credited to George and is his second assist of the season. George was named a First Team All-C-USA selection for the Knights earlier this week.

Memphis outshot UCF 10 to 6. However, the Knights had two shots on goal to only one shot on goal for the Tigers. U of M senior midfielder Tripp Harkins, a native of Jackson, Miss., led the way for the Tigers with three shots in the first half. Forward Ryan Ruble had two shots in the first period.

At halftime, the score was 1-0 in favor of UCF.

Memphis came out quickly and got their first shot on goal in the 55th minute, when Sean Goulding shot the ball from right of the goal box. The ball was saved by UCF goalie Sean Johnson who came into the game as the league leader in saves with 91. Goulding, a senior from Arbroath, Scotland, has one goal and five assists this season.

Ruble, a C-USA All-Freshman selection in 2007, picked up Memphis' second shot on goal in the 68th minute. Ruble obtained the ball near the goal but was unable to put the ball past Johnson, who brought in his second save of the game.

The game essentially came down to a pentalty kick for the Tigers in the 84th minute. Senior Michael Coburn, a product of Dundalk, Ireland, was called upon for the second time this season to take the penalty kick for the Tigers. Coburn, a First Team All-C-USA defender, had missed his only penalty kick attempt earlier this season. The senior hit the ball over the goal.

The Tigers attempted a rally down the stretch with two shots on goal within the final five minutes. Seniors Jordan Lynn and Harkins were unable to score, signifying the end to their careers as Memphis Tigers. The game ended in a 1-0 loss with UCF defeating Memphis. It is the second time this season the Knights have defeated the Tigers by a 1-0 score. Memphis has lost six games by a count of 1-0.

The game ended with the U of M having 17 shots and UCF having 10 shots. Both teams had five shots on goal.

Sean Johnson picked up the win in goal for the Knights. It was Johnson's fifth shutout of the year. With the win he improved his 2008 record to 6-10-1. Johnson ended the game with five saves. Goodlett was attributed with the loss for the U of M. His end of season record for the U of M is 6-10-2. The junior netminder from Bolton, Miss., finished the game with four saves.

The game was the final career game for six Memphis seniors who played their final game for the Blue and Gray. Michael Coburn, Sean Goulding, Tripp Harkins, Thomas Hyland, Jordan Lynn and Robert Sausaman have all left a sizeable mark on the Tiger program and will all be missed.