They've struck even so far this season with one loss and one win, but today the men's soccer team looks to take a victory and establish a winning record. The only problem is, Western Kentucky University is vying for the same thing.
"They're not a problem," Tigers coach Richie Grant said of Western Kentucky. "They're a good team in a good conference. It's scheduled to be a good game at the start of theseason."
The start of this season, though, has shown striking similarities between the Tigers and the Hilltoppers, making it hard to see who\'d5s going to land on top. Western Kentucky won both of their preseason matches against Lambuth and Dayton, and stands 1-1-0 in their regular season so far. Memphis is in the same boat with their own 1-1-0 record.
"We both played really well this weekend," said Tigers' junior midfielder, Dayton O'Brien. "We saw a lot of things and took away a lot of things we needed to work on passing the ball and we need smarter decision making as well."
Both teams competed last weekend in the Diadora Tournament. Each defeated Centenary and lost to Oral Roberts. The Hilltoppers took second place in the tournament due to goals scored.
"Both teams have seen each other play twice," said Grant, referring to the tournament. "They're very strong physically and they accomplish things well. They set their rows well. They put their players on the goalie. They're very direct."
The last Memphis-Western Kentucky face off happened in 2002, where WKU's directness didn't help much. Memphis shut out the team 4-0. Memphis established a 6-5-1 all-time record against Western Kentucky with the victory, but it may be more difficult this time around.
"Their style of play is just to get the ball to the box, mainly passing it through the air," said O'Brien. "It takes a more skilled team to play the way we play."
The Hilltoppers hope to maintain their level of skill this season. Western Kentucky started their season with fourteen letter winners and eight starters from 2003. Among them is Daniel Payne, their strongest scorer from 2003 with 10 goals and 22 points. Payne started all of Western Kentucky's games and was even named honorable mention on the All Missouri Valley Conference Team.
Other Western Kentucky players shined during the Diadora Tournament with three of them making the all-tournament team. Trey Alexander, Scott Degaris, and Clay McMillan, the Hilltopper's second leading scorer, were included.
According to O'Brien, the game is going to come down to the players and how they control the ball. O\'d5Brien, although the second leading scorer for the Tigers, surpasses Western Kentucky's Payne in points last year with 23 points. Memphis' big scorer has scored the Tigers only goal this season in a 1-0 victory over Centenary last weekend. His offensive play may be what makes or breaks tonight's game.
Junior forward Andy Metcalf beats O'Brien's stats by even more with 24 points from the past season. Defense is not a problem for the Tigers this year, and the players' past performances show they may have the upper offensive hand too.
Results indicate the Tigers have made a point to focus on defense.
The Tigers showed offensive firepower in the past, and midfielder John Reilly said they have that potential again.
"It'll come down to finishing our chances," said Reilly, one of Memphis' selections for Diadora's all-tournament team. "Our defense play is solid enough right now, it's about our offense and seizing the scoring opportunities we have. The season's started and it's time to perform well."
