Sept. 15, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- After winning three-straight matches to close out a four-game home stand, the No. 25 University of Memphis men's soccer team will look to continue their recent success when they head west to Colorado to take on Air Force and Denver this weekend. In addition to trying to stretch their current winning streak to four games, the Tigers (5-1-0) will be looking to stretch their road winning streak to three games, one shy of the school record, when they face 10-time NCAA Tournament qualifier Air Force tonight.
The Tigers completed their first home stand of the year on Tuesday night by beating Central Arkansas 2-0. Freshman goalkeeper Michael Goodlett was stellar in net as he picked up his second career shut out. Shaun Goulding and Brian Farrell led the Memphis attack with one goal each.
The Tiger offense has come to life recently, recording eight goals in their last two games. Junior midfielder Kevin Walsh has recorded at least one point in three-straight games and five of the first six. Walsh has helped the Tigers to a 2.6 goals per game average which is good for 13th in the nation. The Shrule, Ireland native's assists per game mark of 1.0 is tied for the national lead, and his points per game average of 2.2 ranks 16th in the NCAA.
Memphis has also featured a tough defense lately, allowing just two goals in their last three games and recording shut outs against Cal State Fullerton and Central Arkansas.
Meanwhile, Air Force will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak and pick up their first win of the season. The Falcons have faced a tough schedule early on this season. After tying Army to open the year, the Flacons lost to No. 4 Washington and perennial WCC power Portland. Losses to Missouri State and Evansville dropped Air Force to 0-4-1 on the year. Tonight's match will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
"Air Force is good team," head coach Richie Grant said. "They played well against good teams like Washington and Portland earlier this year, so I expect that they'll be ready to play Friday night."
After Friday night's match, the Tigers will head north on I-25 to take on the Denver Pioneers on Sunday at Noon (CST) for their final match before the start of conference play. Memphis will open the C-USA season by taking on defending C-USA Tournament champion South Carolina in Columbia on Sept. 24. The Tigers will not return home to Mike Rose Soccer Complex until Sept. 30 when they open their C-USA home schedule by hosting Tulsa.
"We have two more matches before we go into conference play. We need to have a good weekend," Grant said. "This trip is important that we get ourselves ready for Conference USA."
Upcoming Milestones
Junior Forward Jared Britcher needs one point to reach 25 in his career.
Head Coach Richie Grant needs one more win to reach 75 as head soccer coach at the University of Memphis ... Needs three more wins to reach 130 in his coaching career.
Senior Defender Jamie Gilbert is four starts away from 50 in his collegiate career.
Sophomore Midfielder Tripp Harkins needs two goals to reach 10 and one point to reach 20 in his career ... His next goal will be his fifth, setting a personal single season high (scored four goals as a freshman in 2005).
Sophomore Defender Thomas Hyland is four starts away from 25 in his career.
Junior Midfielder Adam Montgomery is five games away from playing 50 in his time at Memphis.
Junior Midfielder Kevin Walsh needs three goals to reach 15 collegiate goals ... Needs four assists to reach 15 in his college career ... Needs two goals to tie his single-season career high (scored five goals in 2003, his freshman season at Christian Brothers University).
