Memphis Women’s Soccer has officially clenched the top seed of the AAC Tournament and at least a share of the regular season title after a 0-0 tie on the road at North Texas. The Tigers will have a chance to claim the regular season outright with a win or tie on Halloween at home vs Tulsa.
When the game started, the Tigers looked to start quick with a corner kick after only three minutes of play by Ai Kitagawa, but it was easily prevented by the Mean Green. This would be quickly followed by a shot by Ashley Henderson a minute later which was easily blocked by the freshman keeper for North Texas, Hicks Bishop, who also stopped a shot six minutes later.
Over the next ten minutes, there was only a single shot attempt; a 19th minute try by Finley Lavin that was not to be. North Texas finally mustered some offense in the 24th minute with a corner kick followed up by a shot by forward Rydlii Rives, which were both off target.
After some very good defensive play by both teams, a foul in the 36th minute would set up a Mean Green penalty kick by Rachel Roebuck. She stepped up and aimed the shot low and away, but Memphis keeper Kaylie Bierman came up clutch with the save. The half ended with Memphis getting two more unsuccessful shots up late in the period.
When the teams came back from the break, Memphis played very aggressively to break the tie, getting three shots and a corner kick in less than ten minutes. Henderson, Anna Hauer, and Momo Nakao all took their chances at a goal, but none found the back of the net.
This offensive rush ended and both squads settled in, not allowing anything offensively for a little over ten minutes. After the great defensive play, both offenses came alive, trading a shot and corner apiece over the next three minutes starting in the 63rd. North Texas would get another look in the 67th, but it did not find anything.
The Tigers tried for a late game rally to take the victory, taking three shots and two corners. None of them would find the mark and North Texas could not generate any offense and the game ended in a draw.
The Tigers return home to face Tulsa on Thursday. The game will be at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
