2009 Schedule (in PDF Format)

June 18, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis men's soccer head coach Richie Grant unveiled the Tigers' 2009 schedule on Thursday afternoon. Headlining the slate for the U of M will be two televised contests, marking the second year in a row that Memphis soccer fans will be able to watch the Tigers on the tube. Memphis will open the season against Bradley on Sept. 4 in Peoria, Ill., in Fox Soccer Channel's Game of the Week. Memphis' second television appearance will match them against conference foe SMU in a CBS College Sports bout on Oct. 4. Last season Memphis was featured in two CBS College Sports broadcasts, including their thrilling 2-1 overtime upset of the No. 15 SMU Mustangs.

"We are really encouraged to be able to have two more games on television," Grant said. "It is really nice to be able to open the season against Bradley on Fox Soccer Channel."

The Tiger schedule once again boasts a challenging non-conference schedule. Memphis will open the season at the Bradley Tournament on Sept. 4 and Sept 6., with matches against the Braves and Eastern Illinois. The match with Bradley will serve as a rematch of last season's opening game at the Memphis Diadora Classic. A depleted Memphis line-up fell to Jim DeRose's squad, 4-0, in the season opener.

Following the trip to Peoria, Ill., Memphis will head to the UAB "Soccer For A Cure" Classic for the second season in a row. The tournament in Birmingham, Ala., will pit the Tigers against two NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a season ago in the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Sept. 11 and Drake University on Sept. 13. Both squads one their respective conferences to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Drake and UMKC both fell in the first round of the tournament, with the Bulldogs losing to Saint Louis and the Kangaroos falling to Conference USA Champion Tulsa.

Memphis will host the 11th annual Memphis Classic on Sept. 18 and Sept. 20 with games against Vermont and Central Arkansas. The Tigers played both opponents last season, facing Vermont at the Smith Barney/Nike Soccer Classic at their home field in Burlington, Vt., and Central Arkansas in a match at their home field.

Richie Grant's squad will also sprinkle in two non-conference games in between their 2009 conference schedule with home matches against SIU-Edwardsville on Oct. 24 and Alabama A&M on Oct. 28.

"We are beginning to see consistency now in the program with having a competitive schedule each year," Grant said. "We start the season with a few tournaments to lead in to the conference season with very strong non-conference opponents. It will give us a good opening of the season to see where we are before we face-off with UCF at home."

The Tiger's conference slate includes four home matches at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex and four road battles with Conference USA foes. Memphis will open the season at home on Sept. 26 against UCF, who the Tigers saw twice last season with a regular season match in September and a meeting at the 2008 Conference USA Tournament in Dallas, Texas. Memphis will then hit the road for a meeting with SMU on Oct. 4. Following the SMU game, the Tigers will return home for a match with Kentucky on Oct. 10. The Tigers and Wildcats ended the regular season last year in a 0-0 tie in Lexington, Ky., helping the U of M solidify the No. 3 seed in the C-USA Tournament. Memphis will then face UAB in Birmingham on Oct. 14, before returning to MRSC to face-off with FIU. On Oct. 21, Memphis will head to Huntington, W.Va., to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd. The 2009 conference slate will end with a road match against defending Conference USA Champion Tulsa and a home match vs. South Carolina.

"The conference season becomes even more important starting this year as we move to a four team conference tournament," Grant said. "It will be a big challenge to have to go on the road to face SMU, UAB, Marshall and Tulsa."

The Memphis schedule will also include three exhibition matches to open the season. The Tigers will open with two Bluff City battles, facing Lambuth on Aug. 19 and Christian Brothers on Aug. 23. The exhibition slate will wrap up with a match against the Saint Louis Billikens on Aug. 26. The Billikens are coming off of a season in which they made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to Indiana, 2-0.

"We decided to play a couple more pre-season matches this year," Grant said. "We have so many new players coming in that we felt it was important to get matches in for the newcomers before the start of the regular season."

Memphis' 2009 squad includes three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and 13 freshmen. The Tigers' will look to replace six seniors they lost following the 2008 season.