Oct. 6, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Memphis downed No. 14 SMU on Sunday at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in overtime on a Michael Coburn header past SMU goalkeeper Craig Hill. The win marks Memphis's first win over SMU in five previous tries. It is also the U of M's first win over a ranked opponent since the Tigers defeated the No. 23 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, on Sept. 5, 2005

Memphis 2, No. 14 SMU 1 (OT)
Memphis downed No. 14 SMU on Sunday at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in overtime on a Michael Coburn header past SMU goalkeeper Craig Hill. The win marks Memphis's first win over SMU in five previous tries. It is also the U of M's first win over a ranked opponent since the Tigers defeated the No. 23 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, on Sept. 5, 2005.

Coburn's game winning goal came off of a Sean Goulding free kick from the right side of the field in the third minute of the first overtime period. The goal is Coburn's first goal of the season and the seventh of his career. The assist is Goulding's fourth of the season and was his second assist on the game. The senior from Arbroath, Scotland, had two assists against Missouri State on Sept. 24.

Coburn, a Second Team All-C-USA defender in 2007, was moved to center midfielder for the Tigers near the end of the first half after SMU's goal.

SMU started out the scoring in the 31st minute of play in the first half when Dane Saintus, a junior forward from Arlington, Texas, got the ball in the middle of the field outside of the box and put it to the left of Memphis goalie Michael Goodlett. The goal was Saintus' third of the season. He was a Second Team All-C-USA selection last season for the Mustangs. The assist on the goal came from Jeff Harwell.

Memphis notted the score at 1-1 in the 70th minute of the game when Tripp Harkins, a senior midfielder from Jackson, Miss., scored his first goal of the season on a header past SMU goalkeeper Craig Hill. Goulding and Jordan Lynn had the double assist on the goal. The assist is Goulding's third of the year and Lynn's second assist of the 2008 season. The goal is Harkins' 13th goal of his career.

Goodlett got the win in goal for the U of M. He is now 3-6 on the year. The junior from Bolton, Miss., had three saves in the contest and allowed SMU's only goal. Hill earns the loss for SMU. He is now 6-2-2 on the year as the goalkeeper for the Mustangs. The sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, had three saves and allowed two goals. Hill entered the match boasting a 0.87 goals against average for SMU.

Sunday's game was televised by CBS College Sports and was only the second televised game in U of M soccer history. The Tigers are now 2-0 in televised matches, having beat UAB, 3-2, in what was also a comeback victory for the Tigers in the 2004 Conference USA Championship Game. Coburn is the only remaining

More info is available on the Memphis website and the SMU website.

No. 15 Tulsa 2, UAB 1 (OT)
Freshman Austin Neil punched in his third goal of the season and second game-winner with just 1:09 ticked off the clock in the first overtime period on Saturday night, giving Tulsa's 15th-ranked men's soccer team a 2-1 win over UAB in Birmingham, Alabama. The Golden Hurricane moved to 6-3-1 on the season and 2-0 in Conference USA, while the Blazers fell to 3-5-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.

Neil's goal was scored off a cross by Joe Salem from just six yards out, while Salem headed in the first goal of the contest for TU off a corner kick taken by Chris Taylor at the 36:53 mark.

The Golden Hurricane had a 16-7 advantage in shots, including four taken by senior Eric DeFreitas who came off the bench after sitting out seven games this season due to injury. TU also had a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal.

Tyrel Lacey logged all 91:09 in goal for Tulsa in the contest and picked up three saves.

For more, check out the UAB website and the Tulsa website.

UCF 3, Marshall 1
Visiting UCF fell behind in the first half before scoring the game’s final three goals to down Marshall 3-1 in Conference USA men’s soccer action in Huntington, W.Va. Freshman Kyle McEntee tallied his first two goals of his career in the second half for the Knights.

With the victory, UCF evened the all-time series with the Thundering Herd at 3-3-1.

McEntee broke a 1-1 halftime tie in the 62nd minute, scoring unassisted when he beat a trio of Thundering Herd defenders and slipping a shot past the Marshall keeper for a 2-1 lead.

In the 70th minute, McEntee gave the Knights a cushion with his second goal, taking a pass from fellow freshman Kyle Ellis and scoring in front of the net.

Marshall opened the scoring with a goal in the first half when Dustin Dawes scored an unassisted goal on a rebound shot.

Freshman Kevan George scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1. Sophomore Yaron Bacher tallied his third assist of the season.

Sophomore keeper Sean Johnson collected seven saves on the night to earn the victory in goal.

The Knights return to action on Wednesday, hosting Florida International at 7 p.m.

For more, visit the UCF website and the Marshall website.

No. 23 South Carolina 2, Florida International 0
Behind one goal from each of its sophomore strikers, the 23rd-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks kicked off their Conference USA campaign with a 2-0 shutout against Florida International in front of a strong crowd at Stone Stadium on Saturday night. The win improves Carolina's record to 6-3-1, 1-0-0 C-USA, while the Golden Panthers fall to 1-6-2, with a 0-1-0 mark in league action. The duo of Sam Arthur and Blake Brettschneider each tallied one goal for the Gamecocks, while netminder Jimmy Maurer collected five saves to earn his sixth shutout of the year.

South Carolina held a 15-7 advantage in shots where Brettschneider and freshman midfielder Danny Cates led the Carolina attack with three each, while Arthur and Brettschneider each tallied two shots on frame. Junior midfielder Jeff Scannella collected his second assist of the season on the evening's opening score, while Arthur and Cates each contributed an assist on the final Carolina tally.

Maurer paced the Gamecock defense, collecting five saves, including three in the first half, to lead South Carolina to its sixth shutout of the season in just the 10th Gamecock match. With the shutout, Maurer sets his career mark, as he tallied five shouts last season in 19 contests during his rookie campaign.

Juan Guerra led the Golden Panther attack with five shots, including three on frame, while freshman goalkeeper Jesse Fullerton collected six saves in net.

Both teams were slow to start on the offensive side of the pitch during the opening few minutes of the contest. South Carolina was unable to finish on several chances within the Golden Panther defensive third, including a point-blank header from Cates midway through the set.

The 0-0 stalemate held through the halftime intermission but it didn't take long for Carolina's first strike in the 48th minute of the match. Scannella split two FIU defenders, passing a through ball to Arthur, who sent a bullet towards the net, earning the deflection off an FIU defender to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 advantage. The score was Arthur's team-leading 10th of the year.

Both teams had several offensive chances throughout the half, but Carolina would be the only squad to capitalize on its chances. Brettschneider capped the 2-0 victory with his third goal of the season in the 67th-minute. Arthur settled a cross from Cates on the right side and connected with Brettschneider for the final Carolina tally.

No. 23 South Carolina travels to face No. 14 SMU in a highly anticipated Conference USA matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Dallas, Texas. Match time is set for 8 p.m. ET.

More information can be found on the South Carolina website and the FIU website.

Xavier 1, Kentucky 0
Despite dominating every statistical category – including a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks and a 20-9 advantage in total shots, Kentucky allowed its first goal in a 394-minute span, suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Xavier Musketeers, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the UK Soccer Complex.

Kentucky (5-3-2) suffered its first loss since a 3-1 setback at 24th-ranked Cal Poly on September 7 and lost for the first time at the UK Soccer Complex since a 2007 defeat to Tulsa, a span of five matches.

The Wildcats held the edge in shots (20-9) and corner kicks (10-0), controlling the tempo for the majority of the contest. UK had not allowed a goal in three consecutive matches, dating back to a harmless 86th-minute goal in a win over Michigan on September 17.

Dan Williams, the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week, made two stellar saves in the match, including an acrobatic save to thwart a scoring opportunity seconds before the game-winning goal was delivered. Xavier keeper Adam Sokolowski totaled four saves, utilizing a solid Musketeer defense to keep XU in the game throughout.

In a gritty, emotionally-charged contest, Xavier led the foul count, 16-10 with five total cards being issued by center referee Josh Brooks. Sophomore midfielder C.J. Tappel was giving the first red card handed out to a Wildcat this season in the 82nd minute and head coach Ian Collins followed with a red card seconds later. Collins and Tappel must miss UK’s scheduled game at Tulsa on Wednesday.

Andy Dimbi netted his third goal of the season in the 81st minute, as Xavier (1-7-1) mounted a challenge in the box, forcing Williams to leave his position and post an impressive save and spray the ball back into play. Ryan

Gray controlled the ball and moved it to Dimbi, who netted it home past a scrambling UK defense.

Michael Strong registered UK’s first attempt on goal in the eighth minute, as UK mounted an attack off a corner kick. Strong attempted a spinning bicycle kick of the ball, which was headed from Brad Walker, but the shot sailed wide.

After the game was controlled in the first 15 minutes between the 18-yard boxes, UK mounted an attack in the 17th minute, as the ball was played back to Jason Griffiths who attempted a low-lining shot tht sailed wide of the net by a few feet.

With UK executing its offense at a high level in the 18th minute, UK made another offensive run, setting up a threat inside the Xavier 18-yard box, but Barry Rice’s header attempt missed wide of the net.

Tappel had a chance in the 36th minute, as UK mounted an attack that resulted in Tappel firing a shot from about 25 yards out, missing high and wide.

Chad Hagerty had a good look at the net in the 38th minute, as he and Bingy Lara broke through the Musketeer defense, but Hagerty’s line-drive shot sailed wide of the net.

Xavier had a shot on goal, the first of the game in the 44th minute, as No. 13 played the ball into the box and shot from about 10 yards away, forcing Williams to save the shot.

Masumi Turnbull registered UK’s first shot on goal in the 61st minute, attempting a shot from 10 yards out that forced a save from the keeper for UK’s first shot on goal of the match.

With UK attempting to mount an attack in the final minute, UK had a flurry of activity in front of the Xavier goal, including a hard-hit Rice header that forced a diving save from Adam Sokolowski.

Rice, a preseason All-America defender, won 7-of-8 contested header attempts on the night, bringing his season total to 72-of-77 contested header attempts won in all 10 games this season.

Soccer returns to action on Wednesday with its second conference game, traveling to Tulsa, Okla., to battle C-USA power Tulsa at 7 p.m. ET.

For more details, check out the Kentucky website.