Sherrod scores hat trick in Tigers’ rout of Mavericks

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

Greg Anderson

U of M sophomore midfielder Liam Collins heads a pass to a teammate for a goal during a match against Wisconsin.

 

Sophomore forward Mark Sherrod scored three goals on Tuesday as The University of Memphis men's soccer team (7-3-1, 1-2 in Conference USA) defeated the visiting Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks 5-0 at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

"We moved the ball well, but I thought we got a little impatient in the first half," said Richie Grant, head coach of the men's soccer team. "(Mark Sherrod's) all-around game is very good. He's been immense for us this season, and he's going to need to continue to be as we go on into the end of the season."

Andreas Guentner and Tiago Reichert also added goals for Memphis. In addition to assists by Chandler Gagnon, Wilson Linder and Lewis Ellis, Liam Collins recorded three assists on the evening, giving him nine on the year. Tiger great Dayton O'Brien is the last to record double-digits in assists, posting 14 in 2004.

"Mark makes it easy for me to get him the ball," Collins said. "He's always in the right space for me. He just has to be looking for (the ball)."

The Tigers were aggressive from the beginning of the match, taking a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute with an Andreas Guntner goal. Guentner's shot nicked the bottom of the crossbar before going in. Sherrod added the second goal of the evening for Memphis, scoring off a through ball from Wil Linder.

The Tigers entered halftime with a 2-0 lead over the Mavericks. Sherrod started the second half for the Tigers by scoring his second goal of the match. Collins served the ball into the box for Sherrod, who scored on a header. Collins and Sherrod connected just under nine minutes later in the match after Collins stripped a UNO player of the ball. Sherrod took the feed from Collins at the top of the box and drilled a shot to the far post.

Including Tuesday's hat trick, Sherrod has scored 11 goals on the season, the most since Andy Metcalf recorded 12 in 2005. Gordy Gurson scored a hat trick against Alabama A&M last season in the Tigers 8-0 win.

"I give all the credit to Liam," Sherrod said. "Every game it seems like he can always find me. My job is to just get in the box, and Liam just serves it up on a silver platter to me."