March 27, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a month with no scheduled games, the University of Memphis women's soccer squad gets back to the pitch for a pair of matches this weekend. The 2009 C-USA regular season co-champions and C-USA Tournament champions will head to Decatur, Ala. to take on Vanderbilt which kicks off at 10:30 a.m. and Samford at 2:00 p.m.

"This is a great opportunity for us to get out and play and match up against two quality teams and we're looking forward to it," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "Vanderbilt comes out of the SEC and Samford makes regular appearances in the NCAA Tournament. They will be two big tests."

In the first double header matches of the spring for the Lady Tigers, 2008 C-USA Tournament Offensive MVP junior Laura Laufenberg notched a pair of goals in a 6-1 victory over the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans and C-USA co-Freshman of the Year Lizzy Simonin netted the only net of the contest as the Lady Tigers downed Oklahoma State 1-0. Since February 21, Memphis has been inactive, but spent the past month in the weight room and on the pitch at the U of M practice facilities.

"I've been very pleased up to this point with the way our springs has gone," said Monaghan. "The girls have been working very hard. We're taking a little bit different approach with some of the things that we do. The girls have really responded. We're really looking forward to this weekend."

Memphis tied for the C-USA regular season title in 2007 with UCF and found itself again tied atop the C-USA regular season standings with East Carolina. The Lady Tigers found themselves in the championship game of the C-USA Tournament again, and matched up against the same East Carolina squad which they shared the 2008 regular season crown.

The Lady Tigers successfully defended their C-USA Tournament title with a 4-1 victory over the ECU Pirates and punched their automatic ticket to the NCAA Championships. They would eventually be knocked out in the first round by the University of Illinois in a 1-0 overtime battle in Columbia, Mo. on Nov. 14.