Cincinnati is the top seed in the 2003 Conference USA Men’s Soccer Tournament, which will open play on Thursday at The Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis, Tenn. Sixth-ranked Saint Louis is the second seed. The Bearcats earned the No. 1 seed by defeating the Billikens, 4-3 in double overtime on Oct. 18. UC secured its share of the title by defeating Marquette, 1-0, last weekend in Milwaukee, while SLU claimed its half of the title by upending UAB, 3-1, in Birmingham.

The top six finishers of the 10 soccer-playing schools qualify for the conference tournament with the top two seeds receiving first-round byes. The quarterfinal matches take place on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. (ET), with the semifinals slated for Friday, Nov. 15, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. The championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 p.m (ET). The championship match will be televised on the Conference USA Television Network. Veteran announcer DON RUSSELL will handle the play-by-play duties, while BILL McDERMOTT will provide color commentary.

Cincinnati (10-3-5, 6-2-1) enters the tournament unbeaten in its last six conference matches with a 5-0-1 record. The Bearcats are led by JOSH GARDNER and JOHN ADAMS. Gardner has six goals and six assists this year, while Adams’ 0.76 goals against average is the lowest in C-USA and lowest in UC history. Cincinnati opens the tournament on Friday at 6:00 p.m., against the winner of the USF-Charlotte match.

By clinching a share of the 2003 regular season title, Saint Louis (12-3-2, 6-2-1) has owned a part of the last six C-USA championships. The youthful Billikens have seen their offensive production come from the freshman class, which has scored 29 of their 33 goals this season. Saint Louis begins tourney play on Friday at 5:00 p.m. against the winner of the Louisville-UAB match. The Billikens own a 3-2 mark against teams in the tournament this year.

The tournament gets underway on Thursday at 6:00 p.m., when fourth-seeded Charlotte (5-9-3, 4-3-2) takes on fifth-seeded USF (7-7-3, 4-3-2). The 49ers won the regular-season meeting on Sept. 12, defeating the Bulls 2-1 at home. FLOYD FRANKS leads Charlotte with in goals (5) and points (15). HUNTER WEST leads USF with a team-high seven goals and 17 points.

In Thursday’s other match-up, third-seeded Louisville (11-6-3, 5-2-1) takes on sixth-seeded and 24th-ranked UAB (9-4-5, 4-3-2) for the second consecutive year of the Conference USA Tournament. In last year’s tournament, the Cardinals advanced with a 1-0 victory over the Blazers on a late goal by MATT ROSE in the 75th minute. The two teams played to a scoreless tie in Birmingham on Oct. 18. Louisville is well rested coming into this year’s tournament, playing its last regular-season contest on Nov. 1, a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia University. Offensively, the Cardinals are led by SIMON BIRD with a team-high 12 goals, second in C-USA. The Blazers’ JERSON MONTEIRO has a team-best seven goals and 17 points, ranking him among the conference leaders.

Saint Louis and UAB are the only teams to qualify for all nine Conference USA Tournaments with the two meeting in the finals in 1999 and 2000. UAB won the 1999 championship with Saint Louis taking the 2000 crown. The Billikens own the 1995, 96, 97, 2001 and 02 C-USA Tournament titles.


2003 Conference USA Tournament

Thursday, November 13
(5) USF vs. (4) Charlotte 6:00p
(6) UAB vs. (3) Louisville 8:30p

Friday, November 14
Winner of Game 1 vs. (1) Cincinnati 6:00p
Winner of Game 2 vs. (2) Saint Louis 8:30p

Sunday, November 16
Championship Match 2:00p

All Times Eastern


Conference USA Television Network Information
Charter Communications Information Network, Ch. 21 – St. Louis (Live)
College Sports Television (CSTV), DirecTV Ch. 610 – (Live)
Comcast Charter Sports Southeast (Tape Delay on Nov. 29 at Noon EST)
Cox Sports Television - New Orleans (Tape Delay on Nov. 17 at Noon CST)
Fox Sports Net Chicago (Tape Delay on Nov. 17 at Noon CST)
Fox Sports Net Florida (Tape Delay on Nov. 17 at 1:00 p.m. EST)
Fox Sports New Ohio (Tape Delay on Nov. 23 at 3:00 p.m. EST)
Fox Sports Net South (Tape Delay on Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m. EST))
UNC Charlotte Cable Television, Ch. 22 – (Live)
WXIV-TV, Ch. 14 - Greensboro (Live)

Satellite Coordinates: KU Band, SBS 6, Transponder 5