Oct. 23, 2003

Memphis, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's soccer team will conclude its home schedule Friday with a Senior Night contest against USF at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex before traveling to Birmingham Sunday to face UAB. The Lady Tigers will honor seniors Veronica Ruiz and Kari Rawe prior to Friday night's kickoff at 7 p.m. The UAB-Memphis match is slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff at West Campus Field.

Winners of four of their last five matches, the Lady Tigers (5-7-3, 2-4-1 C-USA) climbed into a tie for ninth in the C-USA standings entering the USF match after posting a pair of league wins last weekend against Tulane and Southern Miss. The club needs to keep its winning streak in tact to better its chances of qualifying for the league tournament Nov. 6-9 in Charlotte. The top eight teams in the league qualify for the C-USA tournament.

"We dug ourselves a hole early on in the season, but the girls have regrouped and started playing better," Memphis head coach Brooks Monaghan said. "We have to keep winning in order to return to Charlotte and our girls believe we can do that."

Memphis will have its work cut out for them as both opponents are ahead of them in the league standings. USF (6-6-2, 4-2-1 C-USA) is currently in seventh place in the league standings while UAB (10-4, 5-2 C-USA) is tied for fifth.

The Bulls' two losses in league play, a 2-1 setback to Tulane and a 1-0 blanking by Southern Miss, were against the two C-USA teams the Lady Tigers have defeated. The Blazers, who are 6-2 at home this season, have surpassed their win total from last season overall and equaled their fives victories in league play.