Memphis men’s soccer started conference play strongly with a 2-1 victory on the road at Tulsa. This marks Memphis’ third win on the year as they hope to perform strongly in conference play to make a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
First half:
The Tigers got off to an incredible start, as Lleyton Imparato scored a goal off a throw-in after only five minutes of play.
Memphis would continue to control the pace of the game earning an Imparato corner kick in the ninth minute, this would be headed in by Logan Longo to quickly go up 2-0.
Tulsa would seldom cross midfield for a long time, as Memphis would stifle any opportunities for offense and looked to finish their opponents early. This wouldn’t last forever, as Tulsa earned their first corner kick in the 19th minute, but it was cleared by the Tigers.
Tulsa’s Camilo Vargas rifled a shot right of the keeper in the 25th minute to reduce the Memphis lead to only one goal.
They would follow this up with a dangerous free kick two minutes later, but Memphis’ keeper Filip Sabatti made the save.
Both teams slowed the game down in the first half, looking for good positioning and quality shots. Any potential looks were well defended by the other team.
Second half:
Tulsa came out of the break aggressively, earning a corner kick within the first minute of the second half. It would not result in anything.
Memphis’ defense held firm in the early stages of the half, draining the clock and keeping the chances for Tulsa to tie the game to a minimum.
The Tigers looked to put the Golden Hurricanes away twice with great shots, but they were not to be.
Tulsa increased the tempo, earning a great look and a corner kick in the 77th minute, but both would be prevented by Memphis.
In the waning seconds of the 89th minute, Tulsa would get one last shot on goal to attempt to salvage a tie. Sabatti made a clutch save to keep the score 2-1 in favor of Memphis.
What’s next: Memphis is back home for a 7 p.m. game versus UAB on September 28.
