The University of Memphis men’s soccer team are 5-2-2 after the start of conference play. They tied 1-1 with The University of Alabama at Birmingham last Tuesday in Birmingham with the lone goal from senior midfielder David Zalzman. The Tigers also beat American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati 1-0 this past Sunday with a goal from redshirt freshman midfielder Edgar Alaniz.
The Tigers had a rare Tuesday night game with UAB, a former Conference-USA foe, in which they started quickly, earning a corner kick at the beginning of the match, but they couldn’t capitalize on it. UAB struck first, scoring a goal in the top-right of the net. The lead only lasted 10 minutes, as Memphis earned a penalty kick, and Zalzman kept his composure enough to get his third goal of the season.
The rest of the game was all about the defensive players who kept shots from finding the back of the net. UAB outshot Memphis 7-3 during the second half, but Memphis kept the game tied. Although Memphis didn’t get the result they wanted, they did get a better result than last year when they lost 3-0 to UAB.
The men then returned home to start AAC play against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday night. The Tigers didn’t play their best game against the Bearcat team that only has one win this season, but head coach Richard Mulrooney said he still believes they earned the win.
“I do think the deserving team won, but I think we made it tough on ourselves,” Mulrooney said.
Cincinnati started the match with more possession, but they had trouble getting shots in due to Memphis’ defense. The Tiger offense stepped up when senior midfielder Mason Morise entered the game as the first sub in the 22nd minute.
“I thought Mason had a good game in terms of showing up (and) being able to do something on the ball tonight,” Mulrooney said. “When you put it all together, you have a forward that can contribute, and he did that tonight.”
The Tigers earned a place on the scoreboard when Alaniz scored his first goal of the season on an assist from redshirt sophomore Peyton McKnatt. McKnatt’s cross in the box needed a slight deflection to go into the back of the net, and Alaniz got enough to get the Tigers the lead.
“I thank McKnatt,” Alaniz said about his goal. “It was a good cross, and I just happened to be there. (It) could’ve been anyone, but it happened to be me.”
The man of the match would most likely be junior goalkeeper Tyler Hofmann, who made five saves throughout the match. He now has four clean sheets on the season, and Hofmann credits his defenders in front of him for the clean sheets.
“It’s definitely not just me; that’s definitely my defense,” Hofmann said. “They saved me just as many times, if not more, and I give them all the credit.”
The Tigers will now look ahead to UConn for their next conference game. Mulrooney wants his team to be healthy, and he recognizes UConn’s quality, as they are 4-2-1 this far in the season.
“It’s gonna be a ball match that we got to be better at, or we’ll take a loss Friday,” Mulrooney said.
The team plays UConn Friday at 7 p.m. at Mike Rose Soccer Complex, and admission is free for everyone.
David Zalzman dribbles the ball midfield against Cincinnati. The Tigers started conference play with a 1-0 win last Sunday.
