The Lady Tigers soccer team moved into second place in the American Athletic Conference after a convincing 2-0 home win over East Carolina on Sunday.
It’s the second home win in a row for the Lady Tigers (6-5-4, 3-1-2 AAC) after beating Cincinnati at Mike Rose Soccer Complex last Thursday.
It all started for the Lady Tigers in the 15th minute as senior Kylie Davis scored her first goal of the season from 25 yards, soaring over the keeper’s head into the back of the net with Valerie Sanderson getting the assist. It was the first goal the Pirates had given up on the road all season.
The Lady Tigers pushed on for a decisive second goal, but it stayed 1-0 at halftime with the home team having an 8-1 shot advantage.
However, after the break, the Pirates almost replied with Kendall Frey’s attacking, but U of M goalkeeper Maryse Bard-Martel came out to make a key one-on-one stop.
After the brief scare, the Lady Tigers took control of the game and finally put the game to bed in the 82nd minute as Nugene Nugent scored her first goal of the season, beating the ECU goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
The game ended with the Lady Tigers outshooting the Pirates 23-3 and having a 14-0 advantage on corners.
Bard-Martel finished with three saves and was named as AAC Goalkeeper of the Week as a result of her recent performances.
Davis, who was awarded the AAC Offensive Player of the Week for her performances against the Bearcats and Pirates, was pleased with the win.
“I thought it was a good collective effort today,” Davis said. “We had a lot of energy for a Sunday game. I think our passes were sharp and we had a lot of movement. It was a bit of grit and grind to get the second goal. 1-0 is a dangerous score; I’m proud of us we worked really hard and ended up finding the back of the net again.”
Memphis head coach Brooks Monaghan said he liked his team’s energy.
“We played well today it wasn’t a typical Sunday game we played with a lot of energy,” Monaghan said. “Anytime you get a result in this league you’re happy, it was nice to see Kylie (Davis) and Nugene (Nugent) get their first goals of the season. I thought Kylie was tremendous, I thought it was a good team effort.”
Monaghan said the second goal from Nugent gave him a sigh of relief.
“When you score that second goal it gives you a sigh of relief even though it’s not over,” Monaghan said. “We had several chances unfortunately they didn’t fall but ECU doesn’t give up many goals so it’s hard to score on them and to get out with a 2-0 win we’re very pleased.”
The Lady Tigers return to action Saturday for senior night against Tulsa at Mike Rose Soccer Complex starting at 7 p.m.
