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Tigers to battle Tulsa, Saturday.
Oct. 1, 2010
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis men's soccer squad will face probably its season's biggest test Saturday night when the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa blow into town for a 7 p.m. match at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Admission to the match is free to all. Tulsa enters the weekend still smarting from the beating administered by No. 1 Akron, who defeated the Golden Hurricane 4-0 on last Friday night's Fox Soccer Channel "Game of the Week" and left no doubt who the best team in the country is currently.
That isn't to say the three-time defending Conference USA Champions are going to roll over and give up their title. With forwards Austin Neil and Ashley McInnes, the Golden Hurricane have more than enough firepower to keep pace with the best in the country, in addition to the cream of the C-USA crop. Memphis enters the match on a four-game skid dating back to their last match at the UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic. The Tigers have dropped their last three decisions 2-1, to Marshall, UMKC, and SIU-Edwardsville. The Tigers haven't beaten the Golden Hurricane since 2006, the year before Tulsa started its conference tournament winning streak. While the Tigers have had a recent string of bad luck, they are still outscoring opponents to date, 13-11. Junior defender Thomas Shannon scored his season's third goal last weekend on a penalty kick against UMKC, his fifth successfully converted penalty kick in a row dating back to last season. Shannon leads the Tigers nine points (three goals, three assists) through the season's first seven games. The U of M's next match will be Wednesday at Mike Rose against Central Arkansas before embarking on a three-match road trip against UCF, Florida International and Kentucky. Shannon nears milestone With his next point, Thomas Shannon will become the first defender to earn a double-digit point total in a season since Omar Jarun in 2003. His three goals in 2010 is the most by a defender since Jamie Gilbert, who attended the same high school as Shannon in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, had three goals in 2006. Sherrod gets first goal Redshirt freshman Mark Sherrod tallied his first regular-season goal in a Memphis uniform against SIU-Edwardsville in the 81st minute. Sherrod was a highly-touted recruit coming out of Knoxville's Carter High School but redshirted due to injury in 2009. Van Dyck named top-100 freshman Freshman defender Maxim Van Dyck, a native of Blankenberge, Belgium, was rated the 68th-best freshman in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com's panel of experts. The left-booted Van Dyck has started all seven matches for the Tigers so far, assisting on two goals and becoming the point man for free kicks and corners. Memphis to host Conference USA Tournament The University of Memphis is pleased to announce it has won the right to host the 2010 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament. The top six regular-season finishers will battle for the championship at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex, Nov. 10-14. Grant approaches career wins mark Coach Richie Grant enters this match with 104 victories, six shy of tying predecessor Chris Bartels for most in men's soccer history. Gametracker Live Stats will be provided for this weekend's match. Click here for the Gametracker coverage.
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Memphis Tigers
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