GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's soccer opened up the 2023 campaign Thursday night at Aldo Santaga Stadium, falling to the Memphis Tigers 0-2. Green Bay begins the season 0-1-0, while Memphis goes to 1-0-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A tough-nosed game tone was set early by four combined fouls in the first 4:08 of the contest. Memphis was able to tally two shots before finding the back of the net in the 8th minute when Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos scored his first goal of 2023. Andrew Paolucci tried to answer just a couple minutes later when he fired a shot that went wide right. Keegan Walker got in on the action in the 16th minute with a pair of shots that just missed.
Later on in the opening half, things became chippy when Kodai Tanaka committed a foul and was given a yellow card by head referee Brian McKay. Green Bay was unable to take advantage of the free kick, and Memphis outshot GB 3-1 in the final 12 minutes of the first frame, but the Phoenix took a 1-0 deficit into halftime.
Jake Parish drilled a shot in the beginning of the second half but a great save was made by Tigers goalkeeper Colin Welsh, keeping the game at 1-0 in favor of Memphis. Green Bay kept pounding the offensive zone, as Alex Cole notched his first shot of the night not long before Parish tallied his second.
Seconds after Parish's shot, Memphis broke downfield off a miscue from Paolucci, and Alberto Cruz was able to bury a leaping right-foot shot to extend the Tigers' lead to 2-0.
Green Bay would rack up six shots in the final half-hour of action, including three by So Nishikawa, but the Phoenix were held scoreless, dropping the season opener 0-2.
GAME NOTES
- Despite the shutout, Green Bay tallied as many shots as Memphis (14), but had three fewer shots on goal (Memphis had 8, GB had 5).
- The Tigers posted their first season-opening clean sheet since 2019.
- Tobias Jahn made five saves in goal for the Phoenix.
- Walker, Nishikawa, and Parish paced the GB offense with three shots apiece.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will have a few days to prepare for Western Illinois, who they welcome to Titletown on Sunday for an afternoon tilt.
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