Nov. 8, 2008
IRVING, Texas –
The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-5-5, 2-2-4) has earned the number five seed in the Conference USA Championship Tournament and will play No. 4 seed SMU (10-5-2, 3-4-1) on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round at 9 p.m. ET from Westcott Field in Dallas, the sight of the 2008 event hosted by SMU. Tulsa claimed its second-consecutive regular season title to earn the tournament’s top seed. Kentucky earned the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Memphis, No. 4 SMU, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 6 UCF, No. 7 Marshall and UAB rounds out the field with the No. 8 seed. South Carolina tied SMU during the regular season, battling to a 1-1 draw in early October at Westcott Field. SMU holds a slight 5-3-2 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools.
Eight C-USA teams advanced to the league championship, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 12, with first-round matches at Noon, 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. CT. The semifinals are Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final set for Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. CT. The final will be aired live on CBS College Sports and Conference USA’s official website, www.ConferenceUSA.com, will provide live stats, box scores, recaps, photos and video streaming throughout the event.
Top-ranked Tulsa will play No. 8 seed UAB (6-9-3, 2-5-1) in the 5:30 p.m. match-up Wednesday to begin the evening session. The Golden Hurricane was undefeated in conference play for the second-consecutive season. The two teams faced each other on Oct. 4, with Tulsa picking up the 2-1 win in overtime in Birmingham. The Blazers downed Marshall on Friday night and coupled with an FIU loss at home to SMU, the Blazers secured the final spot in the 2008 Conference USA Tournament.
No. 2 seed Kentucky (10-4-4, 6-1-1) will kick things off against No. 7 seed Marshall (3-12-1, 3-5-0) Wednesday at Noon. The Wildcats last defeat came at Tulsa on Oct. 8, a span of seven-consecutive matches. During that time the Wildcats have rolled to a 5-0-2 record with wins over league foes South Carolina and SMU and draws at No. 14 Indiana and against Memphis. Four times in program history the Wildcats have spanned a seven-game unbeaten streak – in 1997, 1998, 2004 and in 2008.
The 2:30 p.m. match will feature No. 3 seed Memphis (6-10-2, 3-4-0) against No. 6 seed UCF (6-10-1, 3-4-1). The Tigers used a double overtime tie with second-seeded Kentucky on Friday to lock up the No. 3 seed, while the Knights also tied on Friday against No. 5 South Carolina to lock themselves into the No. 6 spot.
Fourth-seeded SMU squares off with No. 5 seed South Carolina in the nightcap at 8:00 p.m. CST. Both teams have been nationally ranked this season and both are featured in the latest NSCAA regional rankings. The Mustangs and the Gamecocks played to a draw in Dallas on Oct. 8 during league play.
A complete schedule of the 2008 Conference USA Men’s Soccer Championship follows:
2008 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 12 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 – (2) Kentucky vs. (7) Marshall – Noon
Match 2 – (3) Memphis vs. (6) UCF – 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 – (1) Tulsa vs. (8) UAB – 5:30 p.m.
Match 4 – (4) SMU vs. (5) South Carolina – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, November 14 (Semifinals)
Match 5 – Winner of UK/MAR vs. MEM/UCF – 5 p.m.
Match 6 – Winner of TLS/UAB vs. SMU/USC – 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 16 (Finals)
Match 7 – Semifinal Winners – 1 p.m. (CBS C)
All times Central.
All Matches played at SMU’s Westcott Field (Dallas, Texas)
