After tying 1-1 against Lipscomb on Thursday, Memphis men’s soccer played their first match at Park Ave. Campus this season, falling 2-0 against the Belmont Bruins in a game filled with missed opportunities Sunday night.
This is only the second time Memphis has ever lost to Belmont in men’s soccer and it is the first time it has happened under Coach Richard Mulrooney.
As the match got underway, Belmont put a lot of pressure on the home team, forcing last year’s American Conference Goalkeeper of the year Filip Sabatti to make an early diving save after just five minutes.
The Bruins continued to ramp up the aggression, forcing a handball to be committed by Tigers forward Carson Banham in the 18th minute. The fouls would continue to be a problem for Memphis, who finished with more fouls (15) than shots (14).
The handball penalty set up Belmont's Brock Kiper who snuck the ball just to the left of Sabatti to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
After the first goal by Belmont, Memphis looked rattled offensively. Their passes were sloppy, and everything seemed out of sync. This was highlighted in the 35th minute when Jaxon Stokes sent a ball wide of the post, but Tigers defender Fletcher Hedge deflected it into his own goal to give the Bruins a two-goal advantage.
When the squads emerged from their locker rooms, the entire premise of the game shifted. Belmont, instead of pressuring offensively, decided to protect their lead and put on the clamps on Memphis.
Despite the Tigers attempting 12 shots and having five corner kicks in the second period alone, they were unable to put any points on the scoreboard. Grant Calvert, the Bruins’ keeper, made play after play when called upon and the ten players in front of him swarmed any Memphis player that had the ball.
In the 80th minute, Tigers midfielder Ignacio Escamilla had a chance to finally give his team a goal when Calvert was out of position, but his kick missed the ball entirely, which perfectly encapsulated the type of game this was for Memphis.
Even with a loss like this, the Tigers’ season still is far from over. Last year, Memphis started 1-4-0 and got hot during conference play, eventually winning the American’s regular season title and hosting the conference’s championship tournament.
Memphis will get their chance to rebound as they take on Mercer on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT as a part of a double-header with the women’s team. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
