The SMU men’s soccer team lost 3-2 to the University of Memphis Tigers in an away game Wednesday night.
The loss follows last Saturday’s 0-0 tie with American Athletic Conference opponent University of Central Florida in double overtime.
Wednesday’s loss at Mike Rose Field caused the Mustangs’ league record to fall to 2-2-2 for the season.
The Tigers (9-6-1) improved to 3-4 in AAC play. The Mustangs now have a 3-9-2 overall record with the season winding down.
SMU junior Andrew Morales scored the first goal of the game Wednesday night in the 16th minute with a shot inside the six-yard box.
Assists were credited to sophomores Eddie Puskarich and Will Smith, putting the Mustangs in the lead for much of the
first half.
It was not until the 38th minute that senior forward Mark Sherrod scored the first goal for the Tigers. In just over a minute Sherrod scored a second time.
The second Tigers’ goal off a header and penalty kick put Memphis in the lead 2-1 at the half.
SMU senior goalkeeper Jaime Ibarra had three saves in the first half.
In the second half, Memphis had a foul inside the 18-yard box giving the Mustangs a chance to even the score.
SMU sophomore forward Alfred Koroma scored a goal off of a penalty kick in the 51st minute of the match marking his fourth goal of the season.
The Tigers gained the lead again in the 59th minute when first-year forward Jordan Klipsch scored on a loose ball with assists from midfielder Liam Collins and defender JJ Greer.
The Tigers held onto the lead for the remainder of the game.
SMU outshot Memphis in the match, 14-10; however, Memphis led 6-5 with shots on goal.
Memphis also finished with a 6-5 lead in corners. At the end of the game the Mustangs had 11 fouls while the Tigers finished
with 15.
Sophomore Koroma had a pair of shots on frame. Morales, Nembhard and Damian Rosales each had one.
The Mustangs (3-9-2) return to the field in Tampa, Fla. Saturday evening for their final road game of the 2013 season against the University of South Florida
Bulls (4-3-7).
They enter the game against their AAC opponents at 2-2-2 for conference play, while the Bulls are 1-2-3.
SMU is ranked sixth in the AAC after losing to Memphis earlier this week.
Ibarra is No. 4 in AAC rankings with 50 saves and 3.57 saves-per-game.
Koroma also is ranked in the AAC tying for fifth place in match winners and tenth place for goals, shots, and shots-per-game with 4, 35 and 2.50 respectively. Nembhard leads the Mustangs in assists and is tied for seventh in the AAC with three.
He also is tied for ninth with 2.14 assists per game.
The Bulls enter the game outscoring their opponents by a 17-13 margin with a 198-136 advantage in shots. SMU is 1-2 all time against USF.
Saturday’s kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. CT.
