Sept. 9, 2005
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Game #5 - Missouri State (3-1-0) at Memphis (3-1-0)
Sunday, September 11 • 1:00 p.m.
Mike Rose Soccer Complex (3,000) • Memphis, Tenn.
This Weekend
Memphis continues its four-game homestand with a Sunday matinee against the newly named Missouri State Bears. Formerly known as Southwest Missouri State, the school changed its name to Missouri State on August 28. The Tigers and Bears, who played every year from 1998-2003, will be restarting the series after a one-year hiatus last season. Game time at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex is 1:00 p.m.
Looking Ahead
A regional showdown looms for the Tigers just two days from Sunday, as Ole Miss comes to town for a Tuesday night game on September 13 at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers and Rebels have met every year since 1995 except 2000 and 2002, including last year, which was Memphis' first win in the series since 2001. The game will be the second game of a doubleheader, which will feature the Memphis men's team taking on Alabama A&M at 5:00 p.m.
Series vs. Missouri State
Memphis is 2-4-1 all-time against Missouri State, with all previous seven meetings coming when Missouri State was known as SMS. The series began in 1997 and the teams met in every successive year up until last year, when the series took a one-year hiatus. Memphis' two wins against MSU/SMS came in the 1997 and 2002 seasons, and the teams tied in 2001.
Scouting Missouri State
The Bears enter a Friday night game at North Texas with a 3-1-0 record. They have one common opponent with Memphis, that being UT-Martin, who the Bears defeated 4-0 last weekend. Through four games, Kate Blair leads MSU in goals (2) and points (5). Both of her goals have been game-winners. Both Allison Osmundson and Meghan Cassady each have scored two goals apiece as well. The Bears have recorded two shutouts on the year, and goalkeeper Jackie Jasper has a 0.80 goals against average.
The Coaches
Brooks Monaghan (Memphis, 1994) is in his sixth year as head coach at Memphis, where he holds a 42-53-5 career record. Prior to his tenure as head coach, he was the assistant coach in charge of goalkeepers for five years, serving since the program's inception in 1995. Just the second head coach in program history, Monaghan became the program's all-time winningest coach last year with his 35th career win.
Rob Brewer (Lynchburg, 1977) holds an 90-80-16 record in this, his tenth season as head coach at Missouri State. Overall, he has a 158-108-18 career record in his 15th season as a head coach. He is the only head coach in the history of the women's soccer program at Missouri State. He has also had coaching stints at Elon College, where coached both the men's and women's teams, as well as Roanoke College (Va.) and Virginia Wesleyan.
Memphis vs. The MVC
Missouri State will be the second of two opponents that Memphis has faced this year from the Missouri Valley Conference. With their win over MVC member Evansville last weekend, the Tigers have a 6-7-2 all-time record against MVC teams. With the exception of Drury, which is no longer a member of the MVC, Missouri State and Evansville are the only MVC members that Memphis has played in its history.
Same Spot as Last Year
For the second straight year, Memphis was 2-1 through three games entering its fourth game, which for the second straight year was against UT-Martin. Once again, for the second straight year, the Tigers defeated the Skyhawks to move to 3-1 on the year.
Home Shutout Streak
Memphis has quietly put together a short shutout streak at home. With Wednesday's 3-0 shutout of UT-Martin, the Tigers have now recorded three straight shutouts at home. Dating back to last year, Memphis has gone the last 356:03 without allowing a goal at home. The last goal allowed at home was against Marquette on October 22 last year.
Multiplying Multiples
Last year, Memphis individuals only recorded two multiple-goal matches the entire year. With Kylie Hayes recording a multiple-goal match in the 2-1 win over Evansville last Sunday, Memphis has already had three players record multiple-goal matches in just three games this year. Both Shoko Mikami and Asuka Kubota have also had multiple-goal matches.
Back-to-Back Games With a Goal
Two Tiger individuals have already recorded goals in back-to-back games this year. Shoko Mikami became the first Tiger player to record goals in back-to-back games this year with goals against Tennessee Tech and Samford. With her goal against UT-Martin on Wednesday, Kylie Hayes made it two straight games with a goal after also scoring two goals against Evansville on Sunday. Last year, Memphis individuals only recorded goals in back-to-back games three times.
We've Found the Offense
Memphis recorded 84 points last year but lost players that were responsible for 75 percent of those 84 points. If the first four games of the year are any indication, the Tigers will have no problem replacing and even surpassing that number. Memphis accumulated 26 percent of last year's point total in one game by recording 22 points in the win over Tennessee Tech (7g, 8a). Through four games, Memphis has recorded 38 points (over 45% of last year's total).
Firsts
Through the first four games this year, Memphis has had at least one player record her first career point in three of the four games. Against UT-Martin, Emiko Schwab and Lindsey Joseph recorded their first career points with assists while freshman Kate Murphy scored her first career goal. Listed below are the games and the individuals that recorded their first career points in those games.
Tennessee Tech
Kylie Hayes (Goal)
Asuka Kubota (Goal)
Kate Murphy (Assist)
Isabel Briones (Assist)
Sarah MacGregor (Assist)
Evansville
Alexandra Atkinson (Assist)
UT-Martin
Lindsey Joseph (Assist)
Emiko Schwab (Assist)
Close Together
Memphis' second and third goals against UT-Martin were scored just :15 seconds apart. Last year, the least amount of time in between goals was 2:20 between goals by Madison Cheek and Caroline Barrett against Alabama A&M. Against UTM, Shoko Mikami took the team lead in goals by herself with a score at 33:46. Her lead by herself lasted for just 15 seconds as Kylie Hayes scored her fourth goal at 34:01 with a breakaway off the restart of play.
Neutral Success
The win over Evansville was Memphis' first win on a neutral field since the 1997 season and the first ever win in program history on a neutral field during the regular season. Memphis' only two previous wins on neutral fields came in the 1996 and 1997 seasons and both were Conference USA Tournament games. The Tigers now have a 3-5-1 all-time record on neutral fields.
Tournament Honors
As the runner-up team at the Long's Electronics Samford Classic, the Tigers had three players named to the All-Tournament team and all three were freshmen. Alexandra Atkinson, Kylie Hayes, and Laura Pfeffer were named to the team.
Welcome Back
Junior Nicky McLeod returned to the Memphis lineup for the first time in nearly two years in the season opener against Tennessee Tech and made it a return to remember. After sitting out last year as a redshirt while recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the spring season of 2004, McLeod, who was a 2003 All-Conference USA selection at midfield, scored a goal and recorded an assist in Memphis' 7-0 win.
Mikami Returns to Form
Nicky McLeod was not the only Tiger to return to form against Tennessee Tech. In just one game, Shoko Mikami, who led the nation in scoring in Division II while playing at Christian Brothers University two years ago, surpassed both her point and goal totals from last year by scoring two goals and recording one assist for five points. She had just three points (1g, 1a) last year while playing in just 11 games after recovering from a knee injury for much of the first half of the season. She followed up that performance by scoring Memphis' lone goal in a 2-1 loss at Samford last Friday. She co-leads the Tigers in goals (3) and points (7).
Now That's Efficiency
Not only did freshman Sarah MacGregor record her first career point by assisting on Asuka Kubota's first Memphis goal against Tennessee Tech, but she also recorded the assist just :29 seconds after entering the game as a substitute. Last year, the player that recorded a point the fastest after entering the game was Elaine Sedgewick, who assisted on a Mary Shelton goal just :06 seconds after entering the game in Memphis' 5-1 win over Charlotte on October 8th.
Long Time Coming
The seven goals scored by Memphis against Tennessee Tech were the most since a 9-0 win over Rhodes on September 1, 1999, which was also the season opener that year. The seven-goal margin of victory was also the most since that same game.
Another Shutout
For the second straight year, Memphis recorded a shutout on opening day. It was also the fourth time in school history that the Tigers won in a shutout on opening day.
Goalie Helps Out
Goalkeeper Isabel Briones did something against Tennessee Tech that rarely happens for a goalie, and it was just the second time in Memphis women's soccer history that it happened. She recorded an assist. She assisted on Shoko Mikami's second goal of the day by punting the ball well beyond midfield after making a save. The punt was played out of the air by Kylie Hayes, who dribbled with it before dishing to Mikami for the score. The only other time in program history that a goalie recorded a point was when goalkeeper Heather Chinellato recorded an assist during the 1998 season.
Conference Champions
Memphis has played or will play four opponents this year that won either their conference regular season or tournament championship last year. So far, they are 0-1 against these teams this year after losing to Samford, who won the regular season Ohio Valley Conference Championship last year. Next up is Middle Tennessee (9-18), who was the regular seasons champs of the Sun Belt, UAB (10-15) was the tournament champions of Conference USA in 2004, while SMU (10-30) won both the regular season and tournament championships in the WAC. Additionally, UCF finished in second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference in both the regular season and conference tournament.
Monaghan Stretches Roster Out
With a 15-member recruiting class joining the team this year, one certainty is that Memphis would have a deep roster. Head coach Brooks Monaghan has made use of his 26-player roster in the first three games, as 22, 18, 19, and 22 players, respectively, saw action in each of the first three games.
Get Back There
Last year, then-junior Robyn Smart was moved from forward and midfield, where she had played her first two seasons, to defense. She responded by helping contribute to the school record 1.19 GAA and also managed to record six points on a goal and four assists. This year, two more players, junior Beth Keating and sophomore Halley Jo Sullivan, have moved from midfield back to defense as well in an effort to improve the depth in the backfield after three graduations. Memphis has a 0.75 gaa through three games.
Recruiting Class Ranked Highest Ever at Memphis
The incoming recruiting class of this year, consisting of 14 freshman and one sophomore transfer, was ranked 27th in the country by Soccer Buzz, the highest ever ranking for Memphis. The Tiger newcomers were the highest ranked team in Conference USA in the rankings and they were also ranked eighth in the Central Region. Below is a list of how other C-USA teams ranked in the national rankings, followed by teams that were ranked in their region.
National
27. Memphis
42. Rice
44. UCF
70. SMU
72. Tulane
76. UAB
96. UTEP
Regional
8. Memphis (Central)
8. UCF (Southeast)
13. Rice (Central)
13. UAB (Southeast)
17. SMU (Central)
19. Tulane (Central)
23. UTEP (Central)
23. East Carolina (Southeast)
From National Team to Memphis
Three newcomers on the Tigers have come to Memphis with national team experience for their respective countries. Sophomore Asuka Kubota played on the Japanese Under-19 National Team, freshman Joanna Alexopulos played for the Canadian Under-17 National Team, while freshman Aika Young is a member of the Guam National Team.
W-League Experience
Freshman Joanna Alexopulos spent her summer playing with Toronto Lynx of the W-League. The W-League is part of the United Soccer Leagues, which is the largest organization of soccer leagues in North America. The USL sponsors both professional and amateur leagues in both the U.S. and Canada. The W-League is now recognized as the highest level of women's soccer in North America due to the WUSA folding a few years ago. Alexopulos saw action in 12 games for the Lynx, whose roster also included former Tiger Yuiko Konno.
All-Americans
Two members of the Tiger roster were named All-Americans at their previous school. Sophomore transfer Asuka Kubota was an NAIA All-American at Martin Methodist College last year while freshman Chloe James was a high school All-American as a senior at Roger Bacon High in the Cincinnati area.
Alaskan Pipeline to Memphis
Memphis has a very diverse roster, boasting representatives from 10 states and five countries. One of the more unique things about the Lady Tigers is that two members hail from the State of Alaska, which is remarkable considering that Memphis is over 4,000 miles from Anchorage, where both sophomore Halley Jo Sullivan and freshman Kate Murphy hail from. According to research conducted by Matt Beltz of the Memphis athletic media relations office, Memphis is one of only three Division I women's soccer teams in the country that have at least two players from Alaska on its roster. The only other teams in the country that have as many players from Alaska as Memphis are Montana and Valparaiso, which both have three players each from The Last Frontier.
From All Corners of the World
For the second straight year, the Memphis roster has representatives from a number of different states and countries. Last year, the Tigers had players from 12 different states and five different countries on their roster and 40 percent of the roster was made up of foreign players. This year, Memphis has representatives from 10 different states and five different countries and just over 30 percent of the roster is made up of foreign players.
Mike Rose is Home Once Again
For the second straight year, the women's soccer program will play all of its home games at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Last year was the first year that all home games were played there after only playing conference games there for the previous two years.
