Memphis kept its American Conference unbeaten streak rolling Thursday night, and it did so with a burst that Tulsa never could absorb. After 45 quiet minutes, the Tigers erupted for four second-half goals in a 4-0 win at the Track and Soccer Complex.
The result pushed Memphis to 6-3-2 overall and 3-0-1 in conference play, keeping it as the league’s only unbeaten team. It also stretched the Tigers’ conference unbeaten streak to 33 straight matches.
The scoring avalanche came fast. Abby Forsgren opened the floodgates in the 48th minute, finishing off a perfectly weighted through ball from Ai Kitagawa after beating the Tulsa goalkeeper.
Six minutes later, Kitagawa doubled the lead herself, slipping past a defender and curling a shot off the inside of the right post and in. Memphis wasn’t done there.
In the 64th minute, Ellis Kelly finished a sequence involving Brooks and Kitagawa to make it 3-0, and Taliah Brooks added the final goal in the 81st minute off a cross from freshman Ella Etienne.
Kitagawa was at the center of nearly everything. She finished with a season-high six shots, three on goal, one goal and two assists.
That puts her atop Memphis in goals with five, assists with five and points with 15. The junior’s goal was the 21st of her career, and her two assists moved her to 15 and 16 career helpers, giving her 58 career points.
Brooks also delivered a strong all-around night, recording one goal and one assist for her second career three-point performance. She has now scored in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career and sits at six goals and three assists overall. Kelly kept her own run going too, scoring in consecutive matches and bringing her season total to three goals and career total to eight.
Forsgren continued to look like a freshman well ahead of schedule. Her goal was her fourth of the season and third in the last four matches, and she now has 13 points with four goals and five assists.
Memphis controlled the game statistically as well, outshooting Tulsa 19-5 and holding a 10-4 edge in shots on goal. The Tigers have now outshot opponents 209-77 this season and own a 96-40 advantage in shots on goal.
Ava Galani picked up her fourth clean sheet of the season with four saves in 90 minutes. Etienne’s assist on Brooks’ goal gave her the first point of her collegiate career, and she has now played 92 minutes in her first college season.
Sophomore Maisen Dubrule made her season debut, logging the final six minutes. Evelyn Mackay, Ava Gaida, Ally Casey and Forsgren all went the distance.
Memphis has now scored nine goals in its last two matches, its biggest two-game scoring stretch since early last season. The Tigers’ four-goal night was their second-highest total of the year, behind only the five they scored at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 27.
Memphis will be back home Sunday morning at 11 a.m. against Charlotte at the Track and Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
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