Well I attended the Memphis Express first "unofficial" competition and I am happy to say that
the Express won their first "title" by defeating Central Arkansas 3-1 in the final of the University
of Memphis 7-a-side tournament this past Saturday in Memphis..

Even though it was only a 7-a-side tournament, this was a good showing for the Express. The
players got some taste of competion against some local college teams and had a combined
record of 9-1.

The Express 1 won the tournament, while the Express 2 lost in the quaterfinals against the
University of Memphis 2-1.

In the first round both of the teams won each of their games, defeating the likes of Huntington
College, Uiniversity of Memphis Alumni, Lambuth University, etc.

In the quaterfinal round the U of M surprised the Express 2 by beating them 2-1 in a close match,
however the Express 1 avenged the loss by beating the U of M 5-0 in the semifinal match,
advancing to the final where they beat Central Arkansas 3-1 capturing the title.

Express rookie 17 yr old Dayton O'Brien won the MVP award by scoring 8 goals, this
kid is going to be a great player in the near future, watch for him.

Overall the quality of play of the tournament was average college level, some good teams, some
bad, but it was a good first tune up for the Express. Both teams played well at times, however
there is still a lot of work to do before the home opener against Nashville.

For more information on the tournament, please go to:
http://gotigersgo.fansonly.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/040802aaa.html

Next for the Express is their first exhibition game against the TN U-23 Select Team this Friday.
The game will be held at the U of M campus soccer field located in the corner of Echles and
Patterson, game time is 6:00 PM CST.

I will have information about the result and happenings next week.

Go Express!

Sounds like the Express are off to a good start. Thanks for posting all this info.