The University of Memphis men's soccer team wrapped up it's season Sunday with a 2-1 defeat over Alabama A&M. The Tigers will now play in the Conference USA tournament, where they will be ranked.
Soon the Tigers will be on their way to St. Louis and will face fifth seeded Cincinnati (6-8-3, 3-2-3), whom they defeated 2-1 earlier in the season.
With a recent win over Christian Brothers and now A&M, the Tigers will go into the tournament with more intensity.
"I think we've got good momentum," said head coach Richie Grant. "We've won the last two games and it's been a good season for us."
Good indeed. With the most wins in the regular season since 1992, Memphis finished with a record of 13-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
Defeating the likes of conference foes Louisville, DePaul and Cincinnati, the Tigers could be well on their way to earning a bid to the NCAA men's college cup.
The Tigers can look for juniors Lars Thorstensen, Sean Fraser and departing senior Tommy White to step up in post-season play, as Thorstensen and White did in Sunday's win.
White scored the first goal of the match in the first half, assisted by Thorstensen.
The score was tied when A& M's Mujib Kasule got past freshman goalkeeper Clark Talley to even the score at one a piece.
Thorstensen, who is second on the team in scoring behind Fraser, later scored the winning goal for Memphis with 0:48 left in the second half. Fraser did not play.
"On and off the field we wanted to live by three words: pride, purpose and passion," White said, looking back on the season. "And we've shined under each. But we have to play with all three during the tournament."
Grant also looked back positively on the season.
"All season we looked like a team who was going to the conference tournament," he said. "I think they're excited about the C-USA game and gave us 100 percent. I can't ask for anything more than that."
