Men's Soccer Hits the Road to Face Memphis, Central Arkansas
9/5/2013 7:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
UMKC 'ROOS (0-0-1) at
MEMPHIS TIGERS (1-1) and CENTRAL ARKANSAS BEARS (1-1)
Date / Time: Sept. 6 & 8, 2013/ 7 p.m. & 11 a.m.
Site: Memphis, Tenn ./ Conway, Ark.
Webcast: GoTigersGo.com (subscribers) / None
Live Stats: Link on UMKCKangaroos.com (Free), both
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos
Series: UMKC leads 2-1 / UMKC leads 6-1
Home: 0-0-0 / 4-0-0
Away: 0-1-0 / 2-1-0
Neutral: 2-0-0 / 0-0-0
Last Meeting: W, 2-1 - 9/24/10 / W 3-2 - 9/26/12
Benben vs. Opponents: 2-1 / 6-1
The Games
The 'Roos will start a four-game road swing, facing Memphis on Friday night, followed by a Sunday contest at Central Arkansas. Sunday will be a doubleheader, with the UMKC women's team taking on the Bears at 2 p.m.
The Coaches
In his 16th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 112-137-30 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four conference regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Richie Grant boasts a 127-109-21 mark in his 15th season at Memphis, and is the school's all-time winningest coach. He also has a 180-138-23 overall record in 19 years as a head coach. He served as head coach at Lambuth before going to Memphis.
Ross Duncan is in his second season as the head coach at Central Arkansas, boasting a 9-10-1 mark. He is in his fourth year there overall, serving as an assistant coach from 2010-11. He played at Oregon State from 2000-03.
The Series
The 'Roos are 2-1 against Memphis, and have won the last two meetings in the series, 3-1 and 2-1 victories in 2010 and 2011, both at neutral sites. UMKC is 0-1 at Memphis, falling 6-2 in 2006.
Against UCA, the 'Roos have a 6-1 series lead and have won the last three meetings. The 'Roos won last year's contest 3-2 at home, while taking a 2-1 win on the road in 2011. On the road, UMKC holds a 2-1 series advantage, falling only in 2009.
Scouting the Competition
Memphis comes in with a 1-1 overall record after defeating Cal State Fullerton and falling to Cal State Northridge. They are led by 2011 Conference USA Player of the Year Mark Sherrod, and returned seven starters from 2012.
Central Arkansas is also 1-1 overall after two overtime games. The Bears lost to Incarnate Word 4-3 in overtime, and defeated Houston Baptist by a 2-1 score in double OT. The Bears are led by Logan Miller and Wes Carson, who each have two goals. The Bears have six newcomers in the starting lineup this season after going 8-9-1 last year.
A Win Against Memphis Means...
- UMKC would have three straight wins over the Tigers.
- The 'Roos would be undefeated in their first two games to start the season for the first time since 2007.
A Win Against Central Arkansas Means...
- UMKC would have four straight wins over the Bears.
- The 'Roos would also improve to 3-1 on the road against UCA.
Up Next
UMKC will finish its four-game road swing with a two games in Dallas at the SMU Classic. They will face No. 22 Tulsa on Friday, followed by a contest at SMU Sunday night.
The 'Roos are 1-10-1 against the Golden Hurricane, while posting a 0-2 mark against the Mustangs.
What They Rank in the WAC
The 'Roos lead the WAC so far this season with a 0.82 goals against average and are second in the league with 15 shots per game.
Individually, Jordan Rideout leads the conference in shots per game (7.0), and his seven shots are the most for any player in a game this year. Kevin Corby also leads the WAC in goals against average.
