After clinching the top seed late in the regular season, Memphis men’s soccer had their opportunity to punch a ticket to a third straight NCAA Tournament by winning the AAC Tournament at home. Unfortunately, their run ended as soon as it began, losing the semifinal game 3-1 to FIU.
The game got underway with the blacked-out Tigers quickly establishing position and earning a corner kick three minutes into the contest. It turned into a fast-paced battle of stamina and transition speed, as FIU’s Eduardo Mustre landed the first shot on goal after 10 minutes of play, the attempt was saved with ease by Filip Sabatti. Memphis got their first shot of the game about five minutes later, but it stayed right of the net.
The squads settled into a moderate tempo game featuring few shots from either team. Over the following 15 minutes, they combined for just two attempts.
The Tigers finally found their offense, ripping a pair of point-blank attempts in quick succession in the 30th minute. The second of which, taken by Anthony DiFalco, came within inches of breaking the scoreless ice in favor of Memphis. This flurry was capped off by a Memphis free kick which was headed into the arms of a waiting Nigel Van Haveren as the half ended with momentum firmly in the corner of the hosts.
This play carried over into the final half, as Memphis took a few chances at the net seconds after the period started, highlighted by a shot low and away by DiFalco forcing a save by Van Haveren.
Mustre then drilled a ball in the bottom of the goal to give the Panthers a short-lived lead in the 52nd. Not even 30 seconds later, Anders Bordoy responds with a goal of his own to put the game back at even.
After this rampage of offense, both teams settled into quality defensive play. Over the next 20 minutes, there was only a single shot taken. Set pieces would be the name of the game at this point, two corners and eight free kicks were taken during this stretch by both squads.
A questionable call in the 72nd gave Mustre a penalty shot which he converted for his second goal of the game, and the Panthers retook the lead.
After a missed opportunity to tie in an open net, the Tigers started to play with a little desperation. As time ticked away, Memphis did everything they could to tie the game and send the contest to overtime. Despite this, Michael Appiah put a third ball in the net to seal the game and eliminate Memphis from the AAC Tournament.
