Nov. 2, 2005

Box Score

Houston, Texas - Memphis and UTEP, the two top scoring teams in Conference USA during the regular season, set a Conference USA Tournament record for most goals scored in a game by both teams with nine, but the Tigers came up on the wrong end of the scoreboard as UTEP defeated Memphis 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament. Down 5-0, the Tigers came back to score four goals in the final 20 minutes of the second half but fell just short. Memphis finishes the season at 12-7-0, one full game better than last year.

UTEP, the #4 seed, had more scoring chances early on. However, in the 27th minute, Kylie Hayes had a breakaway that was generated by a goal kick. But her shot was saved by UTEP keeper Brittany Popoff and Asuka Kubota's attempt off the rebound was blocked. UTEP would end the first half with a 6-5 advantage in shots and the game remained in a 0-0 tie at the break. The Miners, however, put four of their six shots on goal in the opening period, while the Tigers put just one on goal.

With just over a minute gone in the second half, the Miners got on the scoreboard first when Kia Sams kicked a corner kick directly into the goal. A little over two and a half minutes later, the Miners made it 2-0 when Jami Tullius crossed a ball just out of the reach off Memphis keeper Isabel Briones. Waiting to put Sams' pass into the goal was Melissa Abraham, who shot it over Briones, who was lying on the ground having already tried to intercept the crossing pass.

Abraham struck again at the 57:20 mark when, after a corner kick and an attempted clear by Memphis, she headed in the ball from the left side. The ball had bounced off two Memphis defenders and was once again cleared after Abraham's header, but the ball had crossed the endline before it was cleared.

Then, in the 62nd minute, the Miners made it 4-0 when Cara Nordin scored unassisted from about 30 yards out. A loose ball came to her just to the left of the center of the field and her shot just found its way over the head of Briones. The Miners then made it 5-0 a little less than 10 minutes later when Kristin Wernimont headed in a deflection off a corner kick. Briones had attempted to punch out the corner kick, which was taken by Cortney Casey, but the ball went up and hit the crossbar and Wernimont headed in the rebound.

Finally, at the 71:10 mark, Memphis got on the scoreboard and began its comeback. Kylie Hayes' initial shot off a breakaway was saved by Popoff but Hayes was able to corral the rebound and put it into the back of the net for her 13th goal of the year. Almost 11 minutes later, Memphis made it 5-2 at the 82:08 mark when Shoko Mikami scored her team-leading 15th goal of the year off an assist from senior Courtnee Melton, who had taken a free kick. Melton took the free kick from about 35 yards out and Mikami redirected it with her head past Popoff. The goal gave Mikami 40 points for the season and tied the school record.

Mikami broke the record for points when she assisted on the next Tiger goal at 88:43. From the left side of the field, Mikami sent a cross out in front of the goal that went off of Hayes and into the goal. Mikami then assisted on the next Memphis goal just 28 seconds later when she sent in another cross from the left side that was kicked in by Caroline Barrett for her fourth goal of the year. However, there were just 49 seconds remaining in the game after Barrett's goal and despite a furious attack over the final minute, the Tigers were unable to come up with the equalizer. Worth noting is that Memphis' last two goals came against UTEP backup goalkeeper Mandy Roche, who relieved Popoff in the 86th minute. However, Popoff came back into the game after the Tigers made it 5-4.

"We gave up some goals that we probably shouldn't have given up and then we hung our heads for a while and ended up giving up some more," said Memphis coach Brooks Monaghan. "Then, by the time we scored a few goals and started believing we could come back, we ran out of time because we had dug ourselves such a big hole."

Postgame Notes: Memphis' 12 wins this year is a new school record ... With its four goals and 11 points in today's game, the Tigers broke the school record for most goals and points in a season. The Tigers ended the year with 50 goals and 152 points, breaking the old records of 47 and 147, which were both set in 1996 ... The Tigers came up two short of breaking the school record for assists in a single season. Memphis ended the year with 52 assists and the record remains at 53, also set in 1996 ... Mikami ended the year with 42 points, breaking Jessica Gjertsen's record of 40 set in 2000. Mikami came up four goals shy of breaking the school record for goals but tied the record for assists with 12, now held by her and Christy Caswell (1996) ... Hayes ended the year with 14 goals and 33 points, which both now stand third in school history for a single season ... Hayes' multiple-goal match was her third of the year. Both her and Mikami had three multiple-goal matches this year and Tiger players recorded eight multiple-goal matches, up from just two last year.