Memphis Women’s Soccer Kicks 2024 Into Gear With Exhibition Action
Memphis Women’s Soccer will kick start the 2024-5 athletic year for the Tigers. The talented program is coming off its second straight NCAA Sweet Sixteen, a first-ever perfect conference record in the American, and many other accomplishments last season. Memphis will begin their exhibition slate, on Tuesday night, as they will face SEC foe Vanderbilt Commodores starting at 6:30 pm. In this piece, we will analyze how the Tigers can start the season with wins before the season opener, on August 15th, against Alabama A&M.
Score First And Win
For Memphis, the solution is simple to win and that is to score and score early. Head coach, Brooks Monaghan, would say “Something important that we’ve instilled in our girls is to bring energy from the first whistle and set the tone early” when speaking on how this helps Memphis win games. To further this point, in the past six seasons, the Tigers have won 87 games. Their record is 87-23-8 over these seasons.
These wins all have a common theme which is scoring fast and early. This immediately puts their opponents in tricky situations, not only to play from behind but also to do this against a winner. Of the 87 wins mentioned above the Tigers would score first in 79 of them. In addition, 63 of these times were in the first half of games. Monaghan would speak to scoring fast and how it equates to the success of Memphis by saying “When we do that, we’ve proven to be very successful.”.
In 2023, the Tigers were relentless with their shots. Additionally, Memphis outshot their opponents, 377 to 174, through all periods. Of these shots, the Tigers have 182 being on goal which equates to a .483%, and had an average of 17.1 shots per game. With this, the Tigers outscored their opponents 53 to 13 through the season. Of the goals scored Memphis averaged 2.41 goals scored per game with a .141 shot percentage.
This attack has become a staple of Memphis teams of the past, the 2024 version looks to continue this trend. This unit is a mix of young and “old” talent that will use their constant offense and stout defense {coming soon} to keep winning against the nation’s top teams.
Stand On Defense
As we just discussed, the Memphis offense is potent and explosive yet this isn’t the only staple of this program. The Tigers will score and then not allow you to score on them. With this, goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman, the 2023 AAC Goalkeeper of the Year, returns in net for her second season. In addition to Bierman is a plethora of talent. Defenders Sarah Hagg and Finley Lavin as well as Momo Nakao and Anne-Valerie Seto, both midfielders, return to add much experience to the Tigers.
Bierman was unbelievable in goal in 2023 based on her above-mentioned award from the American. In games in the NCAA Tournament, Bierman would have a game-high of 6 saves in each game. In her 20 games starting, the junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, would finish with 12 goals against, 55 saves, and 0.64 goals on average per game, along with an 18-2 record. As a team, Memphis has 71 saves in 2023 with 35 in the first period and 36 in the second.
Hagg, who was named the 2023 AAC Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player, as well as Lavin, assisted in Memphis the above-mentioned 13 goals on the season which notched them 13th nationally in Division I and had 13 shutouts on the season. Nakao and Seto would add even more experience as the duo would spend all 22 matches together in the midfield.
Seto, and her ability to command the middle, allowed Nakao to attack and it was effective. Nakao would finish the season with 41 shots, 6 goals, 5 assists, and 17 points to have an incredible season. The 2023 slate would honor Nakao with the AAC Midfielder of the Year award as she joins Kylie Davis, in 2014, and Mya Jones, in 2021, as the only three Tigers to be honored with this award.
Monaghan will look for this group on defense to continue to claw up opposing offenses. Their 162 games played for the Tigers will be leaned on heavily in this new season.
Defend The Den
One thing is certain and that is that you dont come to Memphis and win easily. Memphis won 120 games between 2000 and 2018 while playing at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. When the program moved to its current home, on the South Campus, at Billy J Murphy Track and Soccer Complex, the wins continued at a higher rate.
To further this point, since moving to their new home, in 2019, the Tigers are 40-2-3 which equates to a .922 winning percentage. If this isn’t impressive enough, Memphis is currently on a 17-game unbeaten streak at home that dates back to October 7, 2021, in a 1-0 loss to UCF. Memphis would finish 2023 9-0 at home which included wins over Ole Miss, Ohio State, and SMU as they ran through their competition in the 901.
Sustained Success Under Monoghan
Memphis has won under Monoghan. As he enters his 25th season at the helm of the program he is entering historic waters. Monaghan enters the 2024 season with a 299-147-37 record while with Memphis. With one win away from the 300 mark, Monaghan sits 26th among active coaches in wins.
To put the impressive record at Memphis we have to look at the program prior. From 1995-1999 Memphis would be led by Les Szabo. In these seasons, the program would have a record of 34-60-4 and included just one winning season, of 11-10-1, in 1997. Memphis would see the first few seasons of Monoghan finish below .500 yet in 2004 this would change. In that season, Memphis would finish with an 11-8 record and has not had a losing season since.
When you look at the last 24 years under Monoghan it’s been beyond impressive. It has been historic and legendary to what he has, and continues to do, for Memphis Women’s Soccer.
Schedule The Best
The standard of Memphis Women’s Soccer is to be the best you have to play the best. Monaghan touched on this when he said “We’ve always had a high standard here, but in the last couple of years we’ve raised the bar.” which he followed up with “When you raise the bar, you’ve got a bigger target on your back. Every year is a new team, and seeing the team in training has me optimistic.” The 2024 schedule is loaded with top soccer talent, not including the exhibition Vandy meeting on Tuesday and Auburn, on Thursday, matchups.
Memphis will have a chance to continue to win at home as they will host Iowa State, on September 1st, and Kansas State, on the 8th of the same month. With every home schedule comes the daunting road schedule and for Memphis it doesn’t get any easier.
Memphis will hit the road for, seemingly, the entire month of August as they battle additional SEC opponents in a road trip, on August 12th, to Knoxville, to take on the Volunteers. The road trips continue as Memphis will play on the 18th, in Columbia, to take on Missouri followed by trips to Oxford to battle Ole Miss, on the 25th.
As the Lady Tigers Soccer kicks off the season on Tuesday this will be a new team with youth and veterans looking to make their impact on this successful program. This season has the same goal as all of those previous ones. Win games and continue to be great for yourself, your university, your program, and your city.
Memphis Soccer fans the season is HERE! We will have much more on this program as their season rolls on.
