Four Seniors to be Honored in Final Home Weekend

Thursday, October 15

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM CT

University of Memphis

UCONN

Tickets

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Oct 14, 2015 | Women's Soccer

Memphis hosts UConn and Temple in last home matches of season

WHAT: Match 15
WHO: UConn at Memphis
WHEN: 7 p.m. CT, Oct. 15, 2015
WATCH: Memphis Tiger Network
STATS: StatBroadcast
TWITTER: @MemphisWSoccer

WHAT: Match 16
WHO: Temple at Memphis
WHEN: 1 p.m. CT, Oct. 18, 2015
WATCH: Memphis Tiger Network
STATS: StatBroadcast
TWITTER: @MemphisWSoccer

A group of four accomplished seniors will play their final home matches at Mike Rose Soccer Complex this weekend when Memphis hosts UConn Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before welcoming Temple for "Senior Day" Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Emily Adamic, Marissa Duguay, Elysia Masters and Diamond Simpson will be honored prior to Sunday's match.

"UConn is another one of the top teams in our conference and they have some very talented players. We're still searching to put 90 full minutes together and we're going to need to do that because UConn is a team that can really punish you. There are no easy games in this conference. Two tough games and we've got to be sharp," Memphis head coach Brooks Monaghan said.

After winning three straight matches at home, the Tigers travelled to face two tough teams in UCF and USF and returned home with just one point. Memphis was beaten by a desperate UCF team but rebounded with a draw against a nationally-ranked USF team.

The team's leading goal-scorers junior Valerie Sanderson and freshman Marie Levasseur each scored in the draw with USF and upped their goal total to five each. The pair also has three assists apiece this season.

Memphis had not played UConn and Temple prior to the creation of the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers beat both teams at Mike Rose Stadium in 2013 before tying both the Huskies and Owls on the road last season.

The Tigers' all-Canadian senior class has played a significant part in compiling 39 wins over the last four seasons. All four players contributed as true freshmen and have each played in more than 60 career matches.

Adamic, a midfielder, will be playing in her 70^th career match this weekend. The Edmonton, Alberta native has scored six career goals and dished out six assists. Of her six goals, three were game winners. Just two weeks ago, Adamic scored twice to lead Memphis to a win over SMU. A Health and Human Performance, Exercise and Sport Science Major, she has compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Duguay has started nearly every match in defense since she arrived at Memphis in 2012. The Quispamsis, New Brunswick product has played in 69 matches and made 68 starts in her four-year career. She has three career goals and five assists. Duguay has also contributed to 21 shutouts posted by the Memphis defense the past four seasons. The Economics major has compiled a 3.90 overall GPA.

Despite not starting as a true freshman, Masters has gone on to start every single match of her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. The Burlington, Ontario native heads into the weekend with 54 career starts as an outside back. Masters has played every minute of every match this season since the opener. Last season she was named a Capital One Academic All-District selection. Again a nominee for Academic All-American, she has compiled a 3.93 GPA as a Biomedical Engineering major.

The most decorated of the four seniors, Simpson has started 71 of the Tigers' 73 matches over the last four seasons. She has twice been named to the NSCAA All-Central Region second team, first as a true freshman and then again last season as a junior. She also earned First Team All-American Athletic Conference honors last year after receiving second-team honors as a sophomore. In her career she has scored six goals and assisted on three.

The four seniors will be recognized with a pregame ceremony before Sunday's match against Temple at 1:00 p.m.

"Our kids proved that they can really play with anybody and hopefully that mentality is there. We've been pretty solid at home all year and we are going to need to be this weekend. Obviously it will be a special weekend, with Senior Day. The last game on your field, you want to send the seniors away of on a positive note," Monaghan said.

The regular season will finish up the following weekend when Memphis plays at Cincinnati Oct. 23 at 6:00 p.m. and at East Carolina Oct. 25 at 12:00 p.m.