Nov. 2, 2007
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - As the end of the regular season draws near, the Memphis men's soccer team (9-3-4, 2-1-3 C-USA) prepares to face two Conference USA foes battling to secure a place in the conference tournament. The Tigers travel to Birmingham to face UAB tomorrow and return home to host FIU November 10 to end the regular season. Neither the Blazers nor Panthers are mathematically eliminated from securing a bid, so each team is gunning to take Memphis down to better its chances.
The fight will start tomorrow in Birmingham as UAB (6-9-1, 1-5-0 C-USA) will work to avoid hosting a tournament as non-participants. The Blazers need to beat Memphis and then Tulsa to guarantee postseason play, as a loss to either means they'll have to root against UCF, who trails them by two points in the conference standings.
The Blazers will look to their trio of goal scorers to take an advantage over the Tigers. Juniors Dejan Jakovic, Frank Brown and Derek Rios together account for 14 of the team's 20 goals and 35 of its 59 points. Jokovic leads the team with six goals, and Brown and Rios each have tallied four scores.
UAB's defense has allowed only 17 goals on the year, and hasn't conceded three in one match since the season opener versus Hartwick. Five of the Blazers six wins came during a five-game winning streak, which concluded with a marquis win at No. 10 Indiana. They then went on to lose seven of their next eight before topping UCF at home last week. During their five-game winning streak, the Blazers handed out four clean sheets, shutting out Lipscomb, Centenary, Birmingham Southern and Mercer in a row, and outscored the opposition, 13-1 over that stretch.
Sophomore goalkeeper Wes Johnson has earned credit for three of the team's shutouts and boasts a .738 save percentage with a goals-against-average of 1.07. With the exception of the early-season run, Johnson has gotten little offensive support. In eight of the last nine games, UAB scored twice in a game only once and was shut out five times.
But the September streak, especially the win over Indiana, is evidence of just how capable a team the Blazers are, and with their backs against the wall playing at home, fans can expect another tough C-USA match-up tomorrow.
In their remaining matches, the Tigers will look to improve their seeding in the conference tournament, but they'll have to do it without senior captain Jared Britcher.
Britcher learned this week that the injury he sustained in the SMU match will require surgery, which will sideline the Tigers' points leader for three weeks. He fractured a bone in his face last week, below his left eye, when Mustang keeper Steve Sandbo's knee collided with Britcher's face while both were going up for a header near the edge of the goal box.
"We're very disappointed to lose Britcher," said Memphis coach Richie Grant. "He's our bravest player, and this injury is evidence of that."
Should the Tigers advance to the NCAA Tournament, Britcher would be available.
The NCAA released its second RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) today, which is the primary factor in deciding which 48 teams get a bid to the tournament. Each of the country's 22 competing conferences sends its conference champion, which leaves 26 at large bids to be handed out.
According to today's RPI, Memphis is ranked No. 46 nationally and is third in line for the next available at large bid. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Tigers' remaining two games, plus the C-USA tournament, will decide whether they can extend their season beyond Birmingham's schedule.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow at UAB's West Campus Field.
