The Memphis Tigers Men's Soccer Team drew 1-1 against the Charlotte 49ers in a physical and fast-paced match.
Both teams came into the game going full speed. The Tigers scored first in the 7th minute as Alberto Cruz scored off a cross assisted by forwards Jose Ojeda and Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos.
Cruz is now tied with dos Santos for most goals on the team with five.
Charlotte would bounce back instantly in the 14th minute, as forward Jonathan Nyandjo dribbled through the Tiger's defense to tie the game at 1.
Both teams would continue to play quickly and add to some physicality as they committed many fouls in the first half. Each team would have its chances at goal but could not come close as they were tied 1-1 at halftime.
The second half started slowly but became physical once both teams got into a defensive mindset and Charlotte began to build some goal chances.
There was some controversy as officials did not blow the whistle on what Charlotte believed to be a handball, which would have given the 49ers a possible free-kick chance at goal.
The 49ers would then begin to attack the Memphis defense with shots on the goal that Tigers goalkeeper Colin Welsh saved.
There was a moment in the 73rd minute when Charlotte head coach Kevin Langan would chatter some words with one of the officials- resulting in him getting a yellow card. Shortly after, one of the Charlotte assistant coaches also received a yellow card.
The Tigers would, from that point, begin to become aggressive on offense, winning multiple chances and corner kicks. The Tigers won the corner kick advantage 11-7.
The Tigers failed to produce a goal as their closest opportunity came in the 89th minute when Alberto Cruz had a close-range header saved by Charlotte goalkeeper Thomas Wallis.
The game concluded with the Tigers unable to complete the upset but fortunate to walk away with a point.
The draw gave the Tigers a record of 5-2-3 and a conference record of 2-1-1.
The Charlotte 49ers received their first draw of the season, giving them a record of 7-1-1 on the season and a conference record of 1-1-1.
The Tigers finished the game with the advantage in saves as Colin Welsh finished with a game-high seven saves.
Memphis will go back on the road to continue conference play against Temple on Sunday night.
