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Football season is finally here, though of a different sort. The University of Memphis men's soccer season officially gets underway tomorrow night as the Tigers host the Louisville Cardinals in the late match of day one of the Memphis Diadora Tournament.
Memphis and Head Coach Richie Grant will host Evansville and Oral Roberts Universities in addition to Louisville in the ninth edition of this annual tournament, which Grant founded in his first season as the Memphis head coach. In those nine years, the Tigers have captured two tournament titles, the last coming in 2005. Last season, the No. 5 Clemson Tigers came to town and took home the title before a Memphis soccer record crowd of 923.
Game one features the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts and the Evansville Purple Aces. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Lady Tiger soccer team will host the University of Arkansas-Little Rock immediately following that match in their season opener. The Tiger-Cardinal match up will conclude the evening.
Formally a Conference USA squad, the Cardinals are under new leadership in the Big East in the form of Head Coach Ken Lolla, now beginning his second season at Louisville.
"It's going to be an extremely competitive game," said Grant. "Coach Lolla really knows what he's doing, and with the benefits of playing in the Big East, with playing a competitive schedule like we do, it's a great way to open the season."
Memphis won the previous encounter with Lolla and the Cardinals last August at Louisville. The Tigers spoiled an early 3-0 Cardinal lead and fought back to earn a 4-3 overtime win. That loss sent a talented Louisville team on their way to a 5-10-3 season in 2006, only to invite them back to Memphis for revenge tomorrow night. Memphis has the advantage in the series history, holding an 11-6-2 record against Louisville.
Memphis wrapped up the preseason with a 3-0 win over Christian Brothers, which followed a 4-2 defeat of Lambuth University. If exhibition matches are any indicator, Grant and the Tigers should be off to another successful season, but fans should expect a new level of competition tomorrow. The team certainly does.
"I expect (Louisville) to be one of the tougher games of the season," said Grant.
You can follow all of this weekend's action on Gametracker. CSTV All-Access subscribers can watch live video being streamed from gotigersgo.com.
