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 For the third straight game, the University of Wisconsin men's soccer team went toe-to-toe with a quality opponent.
But for the third straight game, the Badgers ended up on the losing end of the scoreboard.
Sophomore Mark Sherrod picked up the ball at the top of the box and scored his fourth goal of the season in the 80th minute as Memphis (4-0-1) slipped past UW 2-1 Sunday afternoon in a non-conference match at the McClimon Complex.
The Badgers (2-3-0) fell behind in the second minute when Tigers defender Thomas Shannon sent a header past sophomore goalkeeper Ciro Martinez just 99 seconds into the match - it was the first goal UW has allowed in the first half this season.
Sophomore midfielder Joey Tennyson (Menomonee Falls) got the equalizer off a pass from junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro, scoring his second goal of the season.
"We did some things in the second half, fought our way back," UW coach John Trask said in a news release. "Then we had one moment of a break down and Memphis is a good enough team to punish us."
The result was somewhat similar to the Badgers' previous two matches.
They led nationally ranked Virginia at halftime last Sunday and had the score tied again with 27 minutes remaining, but ended up losing 4-2. On Friday, UW fell behind No. 9 UC Irvine 2-0 early in the second half but rallied to force overtime, only to fall 3-2 on a goal scored with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the second OT.
"We struggle in a Friday-Sunday situation, whether mental or physical," said Trask, whose team faces that very task again next weekend with matches in Chicago against Drake on Friday and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sunday.
"Some our guys don't seem to be able to play two tough games over the weekend. It is disappointing – it is the demands of college soccer."
Sunday's win was Memphis coach Richie Grant's 112th career victory, making him the winningest coach in program history.
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