The Memphis women’s soccer team (17-4 , 7-2 American Athletic Conference) had a tough ending to the season at home against the Wisconsin Badgers (13-3-4, 6-2-3 Big Ten), losing 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers ended the season with 17 wins — tied with the second-most wins in history. This was the first ever matchup between these two programs. The Tigers were held goalless for the third time this year in the loss and performed in front of a season record crowd of 903 fans.
“We didn’t have our best match — no excuses,” Brooks Monaghan, head coach, said in the postgame press conference.
Memphis did not play as their usual selves in the first 45 minutes in a chilly 42-degree night. Wisconsin was not distracted with Memphis’ rowdy fans, and they earned chances with set pieces early in the opening minutes. They finished the first half with eight shots and eight corner kicks earned.
Wisconsin broke the deadlock with a goal in the 27th minute to silence the Tiger fans as Cameron Murtha, sophomore forward, beat a Memphis defender to turn and get the shot to the left post to score.
Memphis displayed flashes of play-making from sophomore forwards Clarissa Larisey and Lisa Pechersky, but there was hesitation at opportunities to take more shots. Wisconsin pressured and beat the Memphis defenders with strength that the Tigers couldn’t overcome, and the Badgers were more of a threat on the ball.
“I think that’s one of the major areas that they beat us tonight — physicality and winning a lot of second balls,” Monaghan said.
Wisconsin ended the game early in the second half with scores in the 56th and 62nd minutes of the game.
After the match, some Memphis players were emotional, and teammates comforted each other. Some of them were senior members of the team, and the five members of the senior class, Chanel Hudson-Marks, Olivia Gauthier, Elizabeth Woerner, Catherine Levasseur and Marie Levasseur, played their last game in their collegiate careers. Monaghan talked to the group of players as they prepared to move on to their next chapter of life and learn from the loss.
“Whatever it is, whether it’s in the business world or your next team, don’t be scared to lose,” Monaghan said to the senior players. “Don’t fear failure.”
The women’s soccer team will bring back plenty of depth heading into next year. Many underclassmen, such as Elizabeth Moberg, Samantha Murphy, Kimberley Smit, Larisey and Pechersky gained experience that will help guide the next group of freshmen that come along. Larisey and Murphy led the team in goals this season with 12 and 11, respectively, and Moberg collected 13 clean sheets, allowed 16 goals and made 48 saves.
Monaghan said he is confident in the future of the team heading into next season and hinted at more uprising players to come out next year.
“I expect to win another championship, I’m not going to lie.” Monaghan said. “Just to see those kids grow, it’s been awesome. We got a lot of good players. There’s been players that you guys haven’t even seen all year that are going to hopefully be the next Clarissa [Larisey] or the next Sam [Murphy].”
Members of the Tigers' women's soccer team walk off the pitch. The Tigers lost at home 0-3 against the Wisconsin Badgers to finish the 17-4 season.
Serena Dolan, junior midfielder, starts the set piece with her corner kick into the box. She had two goals and three assists in her junior year.
Women’s soccer head coach Brooks Monaghan and sophomore forward Clarissa Larisey speak with media. The women’s soccer team signed 10 recruits for play to the team next season.
