Oct. 21, 2007

The weekend was showcased by a pair of men's soccer contests on both Saturday and Sunday. Memphis and South Carolina played to a 1-1 tie, while No. 6 SMU, No 20 Tulsa and Marshall all earned key conference wins. Kentucky was idle over the weekend before getting back into action on Wednesday as host to Marshall.

Memphis 1, South Carolina 1 (2ot)

Memphis and South Carolina battled through 110 minutes of highly competitive Conference USA action on Saturday, drawing a 1-1 tie in a double overtime match at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis.

South Carolina freshman forward Blake Brettschneider tallied the lone Gamecock goal in the 58th minute on an assist from sophomore Schuyler Reardon. Memphis responded 28 seconds later when Brian Farrell took to kickoff to the baseline and found Michael Coburn at the top of the box.

Following the tie, Carolina's record stands at 8-4-1, including a 2-1-1 mark in C-USA play, while Memphis owns a 7-2-4 overall mark, with a 2-0-3 league record.

The game proved a physical match, as Carolina tallied 12 fouls and the Tigers committed 10. Brettschneider's goal marked his fourth of the season, while Reardon's assist was his third helper of the year. Sophomore midfielder Jeff Scannella paced the Gamecock offense with a season high five shots, including three on goal. Brettschneider contributed four shots, and junior David Smith and senior Daniel Upchurch each added two shots for the Gamecocks.

Carolina freshman goalie Jimmy Maurer played a strong game in net, collecting two saves, while Memphis counterpart Tyler Strom tallied five saves.

Marshall 1, UAB 0

Marshall's Dana Heimbecker recorded his second goal of the season in the final seconds of regulation to defeat UAB, 1-0, Saturday evening at Sam Hood Field. The Blazers had several good chances to score, but continue to struggle with injuries and have missed as many as eight starters this season. Because of the injury situation, UAB has been forced to go with a young and inexperienced lineup consisting of as many as seven starting freshman.

The Herd's goal came with just 34 seconds remaining in the match, as senior Avneet Shergill's pass led Heimbecker to a one-on-one with the UAB goalkeeper Wes Johnson. Heimbecker dribbled around Johnson and scored into the open net.

UAB had two terrific scoring chances late in the second half. The first would have given the Blazers a lead, but a shot, which beat the Marshall goalkeeper and was going into the back of the net, was blocked by a Thundering Herd defender and cleared away. The Blazers had one last opportunity, earning a corner kick in the final 20 seconds. However, after an attempt for the tying goal sailed wide left, the game was over.

A bright spot for the Blazers was the return of junior MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Dejan Jakovic, who has missed the previous three games and four of the last six with an injury. Jakovic came off the bench and played 50 minutes.

The Blazers' (5-8-1, 0-5 C-USA) one-goal defeat marked the seventh time in their eight losses that UAB has dropped a one-goal decision. The Green and Gold is now 2-7 on the campaign in one-goal results. Marshall currently ranks No. 8 in the NSCAA/adidas Midwest Region and improves its record to 8-5-1, 2-2-0 in Conference USA.

No. 6 SMU 2, Florida International 0

SMU juniors Bruno Guarda and Scott Geppert scored goals, and the defense allowed just two shots on goal as the No. 6 Mustangs blanked Florida International, 2-0, at Westcott Field.

SMU improved to 9-2-2 on the year and 4-0-1 in Conference USA games; FIU slipped to 2-9-2 overall and 2-3-0 in C-USA games. The Mustangs also got their fourth shutout of the year from senior goalkeeper Steve Sandbo. Strong winds limited the scoring opportunities for both teams, but the Ponies outshot the Golden Panthers, 17-8.

Guarda got what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 20th minute when he pestered FIU goalkeeper Kyle Thomas, whose clearing attempt hit Guarda in the chest. The ball bounced straight up in front of Guarda, who calmly flicked a six-yard shot over Thomas into the empty net.

The Mustangs dominated play for the rest of the game, getting the insurance goal in the final minute. Sophomore forward Dane Saintus shed two defenders and dribbled into the FIU defense before feeding Geppert, who chipped a soft floater over the FIU goalkeeper into the net.

No. 20 Tulsa 2, UCF 1

Junior forward Eric DeFreitas tallied the game-winning goal for No. 20 Tulsa in a 2-1 victory over UCF on Sunday afternoon in Orlando, Fla. The Golden Hurricane moved to 8-2-2 on the season and 3-0-2 in Conference USA, while the Knights fell to 4-9-1 this year and 0-4-1 in the league.

Sophomore midfielder Hunter Christiansen tallied his third goal of the season at the 26:32 mark, giving TU a 1-0 advantage heading into the break. Ryan Roushandel scored off a pass from Nathaniel Jocelyn to tie the contest in the 56th minute.

After a 20-minute lightening delay with a little over 10 minutes left in the contest, the Golden Hurricane returned to the field fired up, and with only 1:15 left in the game, DeFreitas registered his third goal of the season off a cross from Todd Goddard.