The University of Memphis men's soccer team conquered the state of Colorado this past weekend - and players are breathing normally again after returning from the Rockies.
The Tigers defeated Air Force 3-1 on Friday and then beat Denver 2-1 on Sunday to move their record to 7-1-0.
"It was a good trip for us and nice to play in the altitude," said head coach Richie Grant. "I thought we responded very well this weekend."
Kevin Walsh, Jamie Gilbert and Jared Britcher scored against the Falcons and freshman goalkeeper Michael Goodlett earned his fourth straight win in the 3-1 vicory in Colorado Springs.
"Michael continues to impress for a freshman out there," Grant said.
Two days later in Denver, the Tigers beat the Pioneers with goals from Harkins and Walsh. Junior goalkeeper Tyler Strom, a Colorado native, had five saves to shut the door on a second-half Denver comeback.
Walsh also had an assist in the game, giving him three points in the two-game trip.
Walsh was named Conference USA's Offensive Player of the Week yesterday and also named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week.
"Well, those awards were a first for me, but they're not really a reflection on how I play," Walsh said. "It reflects how the team plays, so I try to look past individual awards."
Grant said the award is well-deserved for the junior midfielder who transferred to The U of M from Christian Brothers University.
"He worked so hard on his game this summer, so it's good for him," he said.
CSN also ranked the Tigers No. 29 in their Top-30 Poll. That ranking, along with the No. 25 rank by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America places Memphis in two of the four major college soccer polls.
"It's nice to be ranked because it judges how we are doing each week," Walsh said. "We're only as a good as our next game, but our main focus is still to win the conference and get to the NCAA Tournament. We're out to prove a lot of people wrong."
Walsh said the team's schedule is built like a series of layers, with an early season test against a highly-ranked Clemson team and the recent trip to Colorado to battle Air Force, Denver and the famous Rocky Mountain altitude.
"I'm kind of surprised we played that well this weekend," Walsh said. "It was a good training session for us, but we were ready thanks to (assistant coach Robert Nicholson)."
The Tigers travel to South Carolina Sunday to open their C-USA season and then return home the following Saturday to play Tulsa at Mike Rose Stadium.
