The 9th-ranked Memphis Women’s Soccer Team defeated the Charlotte 49ers 1-0 in Charlotte Sunday afternoon to remain unbeaten in conference play. The win propelled Memphis to a 12-1 record on the season and their ninth consecutive win.
Charlotte entered the match in third place in the East division of the American Athletic Conference at 2-1-2, while the Tigers entered the contest in first place in the West division at 5-0 in conference play.
The game started sloppy, with a pair of fouls in the first five minutes of action. In the 14th minute, the Tigers had the first good opportunity of the game as forward Mya Jones saw her shot go wide. A minute later, midfielder Momo Nakao saw her shot saved by Charlotte goalkeeper Emma Wakeman.
Memphis had another shot on goal in the 22nd minute when fifth-year forward Saorla Miller had her shot deflected out by Wakeman. The next few minutes saw a slew of possession changes with neither team maintaining control long enough to get off a good attack.
The Tigers regained control of the match in the 32nd minute when midfielder Anne-Valerie Seto’s shot off a corner kick was deflected to Momo Nakao who scored to give Memphis a 1-0 lead.
Charlotte had their first good scoring opportunity in the 40th minute when Tigers goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman deflected Charlotte forward Bailey Manfredi’s shot out of play.
At the half, Memphis had a 1-0 lead and a 5-1 shot advantage over the 49ers.
Charlotte came out of halftime as the clear aggressor, getting two shots off in the first 10 minutes. Memphis’s defense prevented both attempts to preserve the Tigers’ 1-0 cushion.
In the 58th minute, Charlotte defender Kelly Hastings got a shot on the Memphis goal, but Kaylie Bierman made her second save of the contest. The Tigers got their first chance of the second half in the 65th minute when Anne-Valerie Seto shot a low ball at the Charlotte net as goalkeeper Emma Wakeman made the save.
Things got chippy approaching the 70th minute as the Tigers were called for consecutive fouls and defender Haylee Spray received the game’s lone yellow card, leading to a great chance for Charlotte. Kaylie Bierman made another solid save to keep Memphis’ lead.
Both teams got three shots off in the final 20 minutes of the contest, but neither goalkeeper let anything past them. The Tigers did not concede a goal for the third consecutive game, improving to 12-1 on the season.
Memphis Substitutions:
Ashley Henderson for Honoka Hamano (26’)
Jocelyn Alonzo for Ashley Henderson (33’)
Izzy Monck for Saorla Miller (38’)
Saorla Miller for Izzy Monck (45’)
Yui Suetsugu for Jocelyn Alonzo (45’)
Jocelyn Alonzo for Yui Suetsugu (59’)
Ashley Henderson for Saorla Miller (66’)
Sarah Granno for Jocelyn Alonzo (71’)
Izzy Monck for Sarah Granno (75’)
Saorla Miller for Anne-Valerie Seto (76’)
Anne-Valerie Seto for Saorla Miller (79’)
Saorla Miller for Ashley Henderson (80’)
Jocelyn Alonzo for Izzy Monck (83’)
Izzy Monck for Mya Jones (85’)
Both teams remain in their prior positions in the conference standings, but Charlotte is now tied with FAU for 3rd in the west division. Memphis extends its lead in the AAC East to 8 points, pushing their conference point total to 18.
The Tigers will return home to the Billy J. Murphy Soccer/Track & Field Complex on Thursday night to host the struggling UAB Blazers at 7 P.M. CT on ESPN+.
