Going into Conference USA play last weekend against No. 17 Tulsa and SMU, The University of Memphis head soccer coach Richie Grant stressed to his team the importance of scoring first and playing good defense.
While the Tigers scored first in each game and played some of the best defense all season behind two phenomenal performances by sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Strom, The U of M was still unable to escape the weekend with a win as the Tigers played to a 1-1 tie at Tulsa and a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at SMU.
"It was disheartening for the team, who had been working so hard, to lose," said Tripp Harkins, freshman forward for the Tigers. "We are upset that we lost, but we realize we have to move on and learn from it."
The Tigers shocking loss Sunday to the SMU Mustangs almost overshadowed a solid team performance in the tie against Tulsa last Friday.
After shutting out the Mustangs through the first 88 minutes of play, SMU junior Jordan Mann was finally able to put one past Tiger goalkeeper Tyler Strom, tying the game at 1-1.
"Tyler Strom put up an outstanding performance," Grant said.
Strom put up 15 straight saves, the most for a Tiger since 1984, against a fervent SMU offensive attack.
The Mustangs pressed on their late momentum placing extra offensive players on the field to push for a late goal.
The tactic finally worked when senior Duke Hashimoto scored the game winner with only 13 seconds remaining.
Although the Tigers gave up two goals in two minutes, it still should not take away from the performance at goal by Strom Grant said.
"I felt almost disappointed we couldn't pull something out for (Strom)," Grant said. "At times he single handedly took over the game."
Even though Strom's performance Sunday was one of the highlights of his career as a Tiger, finishing the game with a loss made the achievement almost insignificant he said.
"I am very happy with the way I am playing, but it wasn't good enough," Strom said. "I still let two goals in."
The Tigers will try to look past last weekend's disappointments when they prepare for Friday's home game against South Carolina.
"We play such a good schedule, and we are going to be in a great position to compete this weekend," Grant said. "Home games are very important in our conference, and we don't get too down after loses, and we don't get too up after wins. We have to prepare for all situations."
The U of M will prepare to take on a South Carolina team that has won their last four games in their inaugural season in C-USA.
"We have to go in and train hard and get ready for South Carolina," Grant said. "South Carolina is a lot different from Tulsa and SMU."
While the Tigers were only able to escape with a single point in the conference standings last weekend, their ability to overcome adversity is what will keep The U of M in the race for a conference title, Grant said.
"We are putting a quote from Paul 'Bear' Bryant on our practice schedule now," Grant said. "It says 'you never know how a horse will pull 'til you hook him up to a heavy load.' We have that heavy load now."
