Nov. 6, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

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The Memphis men's soccer team will wrap up the 2008 regular season on Friday in Lexington, Ky., at the UK Soccer Complex, where they will face-off with the Kentucky Wildcats. The U of M enters Friday's match with a record of 6-10-1. The Tigers are 3-4-0 and are currently in a four way tie for third place with Marshall, UCF and South Carolina. Kentucky secured second place in the conference standings last week. The Wildcats are 6-1-0 in the C-USA in 2008. Kentucky has an overall record of 10-4-3.

"At the moment it looks like Kentucky is playing their best football," said Memphis head coach Richie Grant. "They have solidified second place in the league with a big win at SMU. We are preparing for a competitive match that allows us to finish as high as No. 3 in the conference standings going into the conference tournament. We are going into the match with a lot to play for."

Memphis is coming off of a tough loss on senior night to the Marshall Thundering Herd. The Tigers went down, 1-0, in the first half, but battled back to make it a 2-1 game going down the stretch. The U of M had several opportunities to tie the game, but were unable to. Bradley Jacobs, a freshman midfielder from Franklin, Tenn., had the only goal of the game on a header past the Marshall goalkeeper. Jacobs racked up his first two goals and his first two career assists last week against Marshall and Central Arkansas. He was asked to step into the starting lineup for the first time last week in both games.

Another freshman, Parker Duncan, continues to provide a spark for the Memphis offense. The forward, has scored six goals in seven games for the Tigers and added his first assist of his career against Central Arkansas. Duncan had two goals for the Tigers against the Central Arkansas Bears in a game that saw the U of M score five goals, a season-high.

Michael Goodlett continues to patrol the goal for Memphis. The junior from Bolton, Miss., has a 1.42 goals against average this season. He has 67 saves, a number that ranks third in the C-USA. Goodlett moved past the 2,500 minute mark against Marshall, so with his 1.48 career goals against average, Goodlett now ranks fourth in career goals against average behind former first team all-conference selection Brooks Monaghan, who is currently in third place with a 1.40 career goals against average.

Kentucky is coming off of a week where they went 1-0-1, defeating SMU in Dallas and tying No. 23 Indiana in Bloomington. The Wildcats are led by Michael Strong, who has a seven goals and one assist in 2008. Chad Hagerty, was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 3, after scoring three points against Indiana and SMU.

In goal, Dan Williams has put up a 0.85 goals against average, which ranks third in the conference USA. Williams has 51 saves in 2008. The native of Fairfax Station, Va., has been named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2008.

Both teams will move on to the Conference USA Tournament following Friday's match. Kentucky will be the second seed in the tournament, while Memphis could finish anywhere from third to seventh place in the league. The tournament will take place at Westcott Field on the campus of SMU in Dallas, Texas from Nov. 12-16. Eight teams make it to the field to compete for the Conference USA Tournament Championship. Memphis won the tournament in 2004, defeating UAB. Memphis senior Michael Coburn is the only remaining member on Richie Grant's squad who was a part of the 2004 C-USA Championship squad.