The University of Memphis women’s soccer team continue a strong start to the season, adding two more victories against the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University. The team currently stands with a 4-1-0 record overall after this Labor Day weekend.
The Tigers went head-to-head against UAB last Friday as they started a six-game road trip, and won 1-0 by Jessica Lisi’s golden goal in the 98th minute of overtime. Unlike in professional soccer, when a college soccer game is still tied after the 90th minute, the game goes into overtime with two 15 minute halves. The first team to score a goal during overtime wins the match.
The Tigers delivered a strong offensive performance, with 24 shots in total compared to UAB’s two shots. Half of the shots were on target, and although two goals were disallowed in the match, head coach Brooks Monaghan knew his team wouldn’t allow the calls to affect them mentally.
“We controlled the match, yet it wasn’t easy to score, even though we had a lot of opportunities,” Monaghan said. “We didn’t panic, and the girls didn’t lose their belief.”
Monaghan noted how his team had played similar games before and knew to keep pushing for that goal anyway. With their victory against UAB, the Tigers also won their sixth straight game against former Conference-USA rivals. The Tigers also beat them last year with a golden goal in a 2-1 overtime victory.
On Labor Day, the women’s soccer team stayed in Birmingham, Alabama, to play Samford University and left with a 3-0 victory, scoring two of the three goals in the first 21 minutes. Clarissa Larisey netted a brace, two goals, on the 11th and 21st minutes of the match.
For the first goal, Larisey possessed the ball within the box and shot it past Samford goalkeeper Stephanie Westaway. Ten minutes later, she scored again by shooting into the top-left corner of the net with an assist from senior forward Marie Levasseur. She has already surpassed her season total in goals from last season, when she netted three as a freshman. So far, she has scored a total of five goals this season.
Monaghan was happy with the team’s performance, especially with the defensive output of the team, as they earned their fourth shutout this season.
“They have been very solid,” Monaghan said. “The defense have been complimenting each other extremely well.”
Monaghan credits the team’s veteran senior defender, Olivia Gauthier, for leading the defense to a strong start.
“Olivia is the captain, and she’s the rock back there for the team,” Monaghan said.
This weekend, the Tigers will play two games in Houston, Texas, for the Rice Tournament. Their first match will be against Rice University on Friday at 7 p.m., and then they will play the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Clarissa Larisey (17) battles for the ball against a Samford defender.
Clarissa Larisey drives past a defender. The Women's soccer team won against Samford over Labor Day weekend.
Jessica Lisi (10) drives past the defenders into open space on the field. The Women's soccer team won 3-0 against Samford.
