MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men’s soccer team continued to make history as it defeated SIUE 2-1 to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The victory marked the first NCAA-Tournament win for the Tigers in program history.
After tonight’s game, Memphis improves to 11-5-2 for the season.
KEY MOMENTS
Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos put the Tigers on top in the 9’ after he headed in a cross from Anders Bordoy.Less than 20 minutes later, it was Rodrigues dos Santos again with the spin move deep in the box to put Memphis up 2-0 going into halftime.Junior goalkeeper Colin Welsh kept SIUE off the board with a diving punch-out in the 57’.After the Cougars cut their deficit to 2-1, SIUE played down a man after goalkeeper Sam Gomez was given a straight red card in the 64’.Despite being down a player for the remaining 26 minutes, SIUE would not allow Memphis a shot on-goal for the rest of the match.
NOTABLES
This is the first NCAA Tournament win for the Memphis Tiger men’s soccer program.Rodrigues dos Santos recorded his third multi-goal match of the season and the fourth of his career.Welsh made five stops tonight in route to his 15th win with the Tigers.Memphis broke SIUE’s undefeated and unbeaten streaks with the win.Tonight’s win marks the second top-25 win for the Tigers this season.
UP NEXT
· The Tigers will play in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT with coverage available on ESPN+.