Tulsa Men’s Soccer to Face Seven NCAA Tournament Teams; Three Top-20 Programs in 2023
6/26/2023 4:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Online Schedule
The Tulsa men's soccer team will face seven 2022 NCAA Tournament teams, including #3 Creighton, #12 FIU, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri State, #18 SMU and South Florida, during the 2023 campaign, as announced today by Head Coach Tom McIntosh.
"In our non-conference we are playing top teams from other leagues, including the BIG East, ACC, Missouri Valley and the Summit League," McIntosh said. "The American was the third best conference a year ago and five teams made the NCAA Tournament, and we expect another great challenge in conference play this season."
The 2023 campaign marks the 44th season for men's soccer at Tulsa and 29th with McIntosh at the helm.
Season tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase a combined men's and women's soccer season ticket for just $50. Season ticket holders will receive one membership card per ticket ordered, which is good for all 2023 TU men's and women's regular season home matches at the Hurricane Soccer Stadium.
The Golden Hurricane is coming off a 10-win season that included an NCAA Tournament Third Round appearance, and finished the 2022 campaign ranked 15th in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Thirteen players scored a goal for Tulsa last year, including six from TU's top returning scorer Malik Henry-Scott. The Golden Hurricane tallied eight clean sheets last season, including six by two-time American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year Alex Lopez. Lopez was also one of four players named to the all-conference first team, while Wes Bottenburg was tabbed to the all-rookie team.
Tulsa will begin the 2023 season with a game at Louisville (Aug. 24). The Cardinals had nine wins last year and played in the NCAA First Round. TU and UofL have met just once before on the soccer pitch, with the Cards earning a 3-0 win during the 1994 campaign.
The Golden Hurricane will then host Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Aug. 27) in the home opener. This will be the first meeting with the Vaqueros, which tallied seven wins a year ago.
Tulsa will take on crosstown rival Oral Roberts (Sept. 1), before hosting Missouri State (Sept. 5) and Drake (Sept. 9). ORU had 11 wins last season and finished as the Summit League regular season champions, while Missouri State recorded 12 wins, claimed their third-straight Missouri Valley Conference tournament title and played in the NCAA First Round, while Drake finished with seven wins. TU captured a 4-0 win over the Golden Eagles last season to take a 24-2-1 lead in the all-time series, while owning a 3-0 victory over the Bears for a 30-13-3 advantage in that series. Tulsa also owns an 11-5-2 series lead over the Bulldogs, but the two teams have not met since 2018.
A trip to Florida Atlantic (Sept. 16) to open American Athletic Conference play is next on the schedule, before TU hosts a four-game home stand that includes Creighton (Sept. 19), UNLV (Sept. 23), UAB (Sept. 29) and South Florida (Oct. 4). The Bluejays had 13 wins, claimed the BIG EAST tournament title, advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked third in the College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer polls, while the Bulls played in the NCAA Second Round last season. Tulsa owns an 11-3-2 advantage in the series over UAB and a 2-0 lead over FAU.
The Golden Hurricane will play at Memphis (Oct. 8) and Charlotte (Oct. 13) before returning home to host SMU (Oct. 21). The Mustangs had 10 wins last season, finished second in The American standings, advanced to the NCAA Second Round and concluded the season ranked 18th in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Both the Tigers and 49ers had nine wins a year ago, and Memphis played in the NCAA First Round. TU has a 12-7-3 lead in the series over Memphis and a 2-1 edge against Charlotte.
Tulsa will take on Temple (Oct. 27) in the last regular season road trip before closing out the campaign at home against FIU (Nov. 1). The Panthers tallied 13 wins, claimed The American regular season and tournament titles, advanced to the NCAA Third Round and finished the season ranked 12th in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. TU has an 11-1-1 lead over FIU and a 5-3-4 advantage over Temple in the all-time series.
The American Athletic Conference Championship will be hosted on Nov. 5, Nov. 9 and Nov. 12 at locations to be determined.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's SoccerMSOC | Cal Poly Highlights
Monday, September 02
MSOC | Cal Poly Recap
Sunday, September 01
MSOC | Season Hype
Wednesday, August 28
Tulsa vs UNLV
Saturday, September 23