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Nov. 6, 2005

C-USA Championship Central

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brandon Kolditz
wkolditz@memphis.edu, (901) 678-2444

The sixth seeded University of Memphis men's soccer team (7-7-2, 3-4-2) will square off with third seed UAB (10-6-1, 5-3-1) in the opening Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal game on Wednesday at noon in Dallas, Texas.

With the No. 1 seed, SMU hosts the tournament played Nov. 9-13 at SMU's Westcott Field. Eight of the 10 C-USA teams advanced to the league tournament, which will begin with opening rounds on Wednesday and continue with semifinals on Friday and the championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Tigers enter the tournament as the defending champion after winning it in 2004 for the first time in the program's history. This year's quarterfinal game with UAB will be a rematch of the 2004 C-USA Championship where Memphis came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to win 3-2. UAB is one of three C-USA schools to post 10 victories this season.

The Blazers were one of three conference teams to beat Memphis with a goal in the final minute of regulation. The two teams took a 1-1 tie into the 89th minute when senior Jason McLaughlin, who had left the match in the 21st minute after suffering a cut above his right eye, received three staples at an area hospital, returned by halftime and ended the match with a game-winner with 51 seconds left on the clock.

If Memphis advances past UAB, the team will face the winner of No. 2 seed South Carolina (10-6-1, 7-1-1) and No. 7 seed Kentucky (6-7-5, 3-4-2) on Friday at 5 p.m. The championship game on Sunday will be aired on CSTV with Don Russell calling play-by-play and Bill McDermott providing color commentary. Conference USA's official website, www.ConferenceUSA.com, will provide updates, box scores, recaps and photos of the tournament.

For tickets, please contact the SMU ticket office at (214) 768-4263 or online at www.SMUMustangs.com.

2005 Conference USA Tournament Match Schedule

Wednesday, November 9
Match 1 - (6) Memphis vs. (3) UAB, Noon
Match 2 - (7) Kentucky vs. (2) South Carolina, 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 - (5) Marshall vs. (4) Florida International, 5 p.m.
Match 4 - (8) Tulsa vs. (1) SMU, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, November 11 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - Winner of USC/UK vs. Winner of UAB/Memphis, 5 p.m.
Match 6 - Winner of Marshall/FIU vs. Winner of Tulsa/SMU, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 13 (Finals)
Match 7 - Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m. (C-USA Television Network)

All times are Central

All games played at Westcott Field; Dallas, Texas