Oct. 6, 2005
East Carolina and Marshall Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game #12 - Memphis (7-4-0, 1-1-0 C-USA) at East Carolina (5-7-0, 1-1-0 C-USA)
Friday, October 7 • 3:00 p.m.
Bunting Field (500) • Greenville, N.C.
Game #13 - Memphis (7-4-0, 1-1-0 C-USA) at Marshall (1-9-0, 0-2-0 C-USA)
Sunday, October 9 • 11:00 a.m.
Sam Hood Field (1,500) • Huntington, W.Va.
This Weekend
After two games at home to open Conference USA play, Memphis takes to the road for its first road conference weekend. They will play at East Carolina on Friday, October 7 at 3:00 p.m. central time (4:00 eastern). They then continue on to Huntington, W.Va. to take on C-USA newcomer Marshall on Sunday, October 9 at 11:00 a.m. central time (12:00 p.m. eastern). It will be the second straight week that Memphis will play a C-USA newcomer on Sunday.
Looking Ahead
Memphis returns home for just one game next weekend as they begin a three-game homestand that will round out their home schedule for the year. The Tigers will welcome defending Conference USA champion UAB to town for a Friday night showdown at 7:00 p.m. at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. The Blazers defeated Memphis twice last year, once during the regular season in Birmingham and once in the C-USA tournament quarterfinals en route to their tournament victory.
Series vs. East Carolina
The Tigers hold a 2-0-0 advantage over East Carolina in the all-time series as ECU did not join Conference USA until the 2001 season. Both of the previous meetings have come in Memphis as this will be the Tigers' first trip to Greenville to play the Pirates. Memphis topped ECU 3-2 in 2002 and also beat the Pirates 4-1 at home last year.
Series vs. Marshall
This will be the first-ever meeting between Memphis and Marshall, which is in its first year as a member of Conference USA.
Scouting East Carolina
The Pirates enter Friday's game with a 5-7-0 overall record and a 1-1-0 mark in Conference USA play. They split their first weekend of C-USA play, losing at Rice before defeating Houston. The win at Houston was East Carolina's first on the road this year, as the Pirates have been far better at home (4-1) than on the road (1-4). So far this year, ECU has been outscored by its opponents by a narrow 25-23 margin. Meghan McCallion, a first team All-C-USA pick last year, leads the Pirates in scoring with six goals, five assists, and 17 points. Amber Campbell has received the majority of the time in goal and has a 1.88 goals against average.
Scouting Marshall
The Thundering Herd have struggled early on, as they have a 1-9-0 record and an 0-2-0 mark in C-USA play so far. They have scored just six goals on the year while yielding 18. They have also been outshot 146-90 on the year. Erin Johnson leads Marshall in scoring with two goals and four points. Marshall has only two assists on the year and has recorded only 14 points. Three individuals on the Tigers have more than 14 points.
The Coaches
Brooks Monaghan (Memphis, 1994) is in his sixth year as head coach at Memphis, where he holds a 46-56-5 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 Donnenwirth (West Virginia Wesleyan, 1988) is in his seventh year at the helm at East Carolina. He holds a 124-75-24 career record in this his 12th year as a head coach. In his time at ECU, he has a 62-49-5 mark. He coached for five years at North Carolina Wesleyan and led his team there to a berth in the Division III Final Four in one of his years there.
Chris Kane (LaSalle, 1995) is in his third year as head coach at Marshall. He holds a career record of 6-37-4 at the Huntington, W.Va. school. Prior to coming to Marshall, Kane was an assistant coach at Georgia for three seasons, an assistant at Rutgers for one year, and at his alma mater, LaSalle for a year. He also coached at the high school and club levels before getting into the college ranks.
Looking for Improvement on the Road
This weekend will be just Memphis' fourth and fifth road games of the year. The Tigers will be trying to win back-to-back road games for just the second time in program history. Last year, Memphis won its first three road games of the year, which was remarkably the first time in program history it had won back-to-back road games.
Mikami Records Second Hat Trick
Junior forward Shoko Mikami recorded her second hat trick of the year and second in three games with three goals against Tulane on Friday night. Mikami, who had become the first Tiger to record a hat trick since Jessica Gjertsen in 2000 when she turned the trick against Middle Tennessee on September 18, became the first player to record two hat tricks in a season since Gjertsen did in 2000. Gjertsen had three hat tricks in 2000 while the Tigers as a team had four with Candice Spiniolas having the other.
Back-to-Back
Last year, Memphis individuals recorded goals in back-to-back games only three times. This year, through 11 games, it has been done four times already. Shoko Mikami has done it three times now with her goals against Tulane and UTEP, while Kylie Hayes also has recorded goals in back-to-back games, in fact six straight games.
Tigers Top 2004 Totals in 10th Game
Memphis surpassed its total of 84 points from all of last year with its 18-point output against Tulane on Friday. After Sunday's game, the Tigers now have 101 points on the year. Memphis also surpassed its goal total from last year (28) and assist total from 2004 as well (28), which came in 19 games. Memphis now has 34 goals and 33 assists on the year in 11 games. The Tigers have also recorded at least one goal in 15 of the 22 halves they have played this year, not including overtime periods.
Miners Find Hole in Second-Half Wall
In its first 10 games, Memphis only gave up two second-half goals. However, against UTEP, the Tigers yielded two goals in the second half to the Miners. Memphis has still given up just four goals in the second half all year and has a 0.36 goals against average in the second half of games this year.
Melton Scores First Career Goal
It only took 58 career games to do it, but senior defender Courtnee Melton recorded her first career goal in the 6-0 win over Tulane. Melton, one of two seniors on the team this year and a local product out of Bartlett, Tenn., scored Memphis' second goal of the game. It was also her first points in nearly three years, as her only career points before last Friday were two assists she recorded as a freshman in 2002.
Hayes' Streak Ends
Freshman forward Kylie Hayes has her streak of six straight games with a goal scoring stopped in the loss at Southeast Missouri State. Though over, she made history by becoming the first player in school history to score a goal in both five and six straight games. The previous record for consecutive games with a goal was held by Meredith Smith, who scored in four straight games in 1996.
Dynamic Duo
So far this year, it is nearly a sure bet that either Kylie Hayes or Shoko Mikami or both will score a goal each game for the Tigers. At least one of them has recorded at least one goal in 10 of the 11 games so far this year and they have scored in the same game in six of the Tigers' 11 games.
Multiplying Multiples
Last year, Memphis individuals only recorded two multiple-goal matches the entire year. Shoko Mikami's second hat trick of the year against Tulane was the fifth individual multiple-goal match this year. Listed below are the players that have recorded multiple-goal matches this year.
Name (Goals) Opponent (Date)
Asuka Kubota (2) Tenn. Tech (8-28)
Shoko Mikami (2) Tenn. Tech (8-28)
Kylie Hayes (2) Evansville (9-4)
Shoko Mikami (3) Middle Tenn. (9-18)
Shoko Mikami (3) Tulane (9-30)
More Offensive Facts
- Last year, Memphis' top point producer had just 15 points all season long. This year, its point leader, Shoko Mikami, already has surpassed that with 29 points in 11 games. Two others have also already passed that as Kylie Hayes has 23 points and Asuka Kubota 15 points.
- Last year's top goal scorers on the team each had only six goals apiece. This year, Mikami has 13 goals already and Hayes has scored nine goals all in just 11 games.
- Last year's assist leader had six assists in 19 games. This year, Nicky McLeod has already accumulated six assists in 11 games while both Kylie Hayes and Asuka Kubota have five assists apiece.
Three Straight
Shoko Mikami became the second Memphis player this year to score a goal in three straight games, joining Kylie Hayes. She also became just the eighth player in school history to score a goal in three straight games. Listed below are the players in Tiger history that recorded goals in at least three straight games.
Name Year
Shoko Mikami 2005
Kylie Hayes (6 straight) 2005
Alison Baker 2002
Alison Baker 2001
Becca Amrozowicz 1999
Jennifer Vossen 1996
Christy Caswell 1996
Meredith Smith (4 straight) 1996
Records In Danger of Being Broken
With all its offensive prowess this year, Memphis has several individual and team season records that very well could fall by the end of the year. The box on the left lists these records.
Briones Named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week
Sophomore goalkeeper Isabel Briones had what was probably the best week of her still relatively young collegiate career as Memphis beat UT-Martin and Missouri State and for her efforts was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. Briones, who is in her third year at Memphis after redshirting as a freshman and only appearing in five games last year, recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time in her career with wins over Skyhawks and Bears. They were the third and fourth respective shutouts of her career.
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.
Everybody (New) Scores
Through the first 11 games this year, Memphis has had at least one player record her first career point in five of those 11 games. 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)
Missouri State
Katy Booth (Assist)
Lauren Everhart (Assist)
Tulane
Laura Pfeffer (Goal)
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.
Now That's Really Efficient
Freshman Lauren Everhart topped MacGregor's feat by recording her first career point just :10 seconds after entering the game against Missouri State. She stole a goal kick by MSU's goalie and dished to Shoko Mikami for a goal and her first career assist.
Still, neither topped last year's quickest point, which went to 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.
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.
Mikami Surpasses 2004 in 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 in just one game by scoring two goals and recording one assist for five points against Tennessee Tech. 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.
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.
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.
