Nov. 10, 2007
Official Tournament Information
2007 Conference USA Men’s Soccer Tournament Bracket
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team has earned the No. 4 seed in the Conference USA Championship and will face fifth-seeded Memphis in first-round action Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET in Birmingham, Ala. Tulsa earned the tournament’s top seed, followed by No. 2 SMU, No. 3 Kentucky, with No. 6 Marshall, No. 7 FIU and tournament host UAB rounding out the field. The Gamecocks and Tigers tied, 1-1, in double overtime during the regular season. South Carolina holds a 2-0-2 lead in the all-time series between the two schools.
Eight of the nine C-USA teams advanced to the league championship, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 14, with first-round matches at Noon, 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. CT. Seedings have been set, although one more regular season match is scheduled for tonight as Memphis hosts Florida International. The outcome of that match would not change the seeds. The semifinals are Friday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final set for Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. CT. The final will be aired live on the CSTV and Conference USA’s official website, www.ConferenceUSA.com, will provide live stats, box scores, recaps, photos and video streaming.
Top-ranked Tulsa will play host and No. 8 seed UAB (7-10-1, 2-6-0) in the 8 p.m. nightcap Wednesday. The Golden Hurricane was undefeated in regular season play after defeating UAB, 2-0, last night. The two teams faced each other in the conference regular season opener on Sept. 23, with Tulsa picking up the 2-1 win on its home field. TU rides a seven-game win streak into the championship.
No. 2 seed SMU (13-3-2, 6-1-1), the defending C-USA champion, will kick things off against No. 7 seed Florida International (3-12-2, 2-5-0) Wednesday at Noon. The Mustangs shut out the Golden Panthers during their regular-season meeting on Oct. 20. The two teams met in the first match of 2006 quarterfinals as well.
The 2:30 p.m. match will feature No. 3 seed Kentucky (7-9-2, 5-3-0) against No. 6 seed Marshall (9-8-1, 3-5-0). The Wildcats have come on strong at the end of the season to win four of their last six matches, including a 2-1 victory against SMU on Nov. 3. The Mustangs defeated UK in the 2006 C-USA Championship Final.
No. 4 seed South Carolina (10-5-2, 4-2-2) squares off with No. 5 seed Memphis (9-4-4, 2-2-3) top open the evening session at 5:30 p.m. CST. Both teams have been regionally-ranked in the Top 5 of the South and Midwest regions, respectively, nearly all season. During their regular season meeting on Oct. 20 in Memphis, they battled to a 1-1 double overtime tie.
A complete schedule of the 2007 Conference USA Men’s Soccer Championship follows:
2007 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 14
Match 1 – (2) SMU vs. (7) Florida International, Noon Match 2 – (3) Kentucky vs. (6) Marshall, 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 – (4) South Carolina vs. (5) Memphis, 5:30 p.m.
Match 4 – (1) Tulsa vs. (8) UAB, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, November 16 (Semifinals)
Match 5 – Winner of SMU/FIU vs. Kentucky/Marshall, 5 p.m.
Match 6 – Winner of USC/Marshall vs. Tulsa/UAB, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 18 (Finals)
Match 7 – Semifinal Winners, 3 p.m. (CSTV)
All times are Central
All Matches played at UAB’s West Campus Field (Birmingham, Ala)
