Tigers Set for Senior Night Matchup Against Mercer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis (0-1-1) men's soccer prepares for a Thursday evening match against the Mercer Bears on Senior Night. The match is set for a 5:00 p.m. kick and will be broadcast on ESPN+, with senior day recognition taking place before the match.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis enters Thursday searching for its first win of the season. Most recently, the Tigers suffered a loss against Belmont, conceding two goals while failing to find the back of the net once.

New faces continue to be the storyline for the Tigers as Adam Aboohamidi and Abdallah Traore made their debuts against Belmont on Sunday. Of the 10 Tigers with at least 100 minutes played this season, six are in their first season at Memphis. Anthony Grudko is the lone freshman with over 100 minutes played, with Carson Banham just under the mark with 99 minutes.

Filip Sabatti, the reigning Goalkeeper of the Year in the American Conference, has been challenged in the first two contests of his senior campaign, recording eight saves on 11 shots faced and holding a 1.50 goals-against-average and carrying a .727 save percentage.

Memphis has shown more aggression in the early stages of the season, leading to 24 fouls committed compared to last year's 17 in the same number of matches. The Tigers have only been issued four yellow cards, compared to six through the first two matches of the 2024 season.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
While Memphis enters the match winless, Mercer (1-0-1) has secured a win and a draw in its opening contests of the season. Most recently, the Bears played Evansville to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

With five different goal scorers through two matches, the Mercer offense is led by midfielder Junior Casillas. The former Omaha standout has begun his graduate season with one goal and three assists. The attack is supplemented by Liam Corr and Tommy Redd, who each have a goal and an assist through two matches.

Mercer has only conceded one goal this season, due in part to a strong back line of Eli Bannister, Gavin Morgan and Tommy Redd, who were three of four outfield players to log a full 90 minutes played in Mercer's draw against Evansville, the other being midfielder Manza Masamuna.

Goalkeeper Henry Hampshaw will be crucial to Mercer in the upcoming match. Through the opening weekend of the season, Hampshaw has only faced 15 shots, with 10 of them coming against Evansville. A Tiger offense averaging 12 shots-per-game will be a strong test for Mercer's sophomore goalkeeper.

THE SERIES WITH MERCER
Memphis and Mercer have only met five times in their shared program histories. In his tenure, head coach Richard Mulrooney has never secured a win over the Bears, falling in 2019 and 2024. This will be the first time Mulrooney has faced the Bears in Memphis, Tenn., with the only home match in the series taking place in 2013, a year prior to Mulrooney taking the head coaching job with the Tigers.

In 2024, Mercer secured a 2-0 win over the Tigers with goals from Carlos Santamaria and Sekou Agard. Neither athletes are on Mercer's 2025 roster, but Agard will be on the sideline as an assistant coach.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tigers Men's Soccer, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Adam Aboohamidi

Carson Banham

Anthony Grudko

Filip Sabatti

Abdallah Traore