Louisville - Regular-season champion Memphis eliminated No. 5 seed Saint Louis 1-0 in a men's Conference USA tournament semifinal match this afternoon at the University of Louisville's Cardinal Field. The Billikens finished the season with a 9-8-1 overall record.

Both teams struggled to generate quality chances in the first half while dealing with the windy conditions. SLU sophomore forward Eddie Parker shot wide of the right post from 20 yards in the 12th minute. Memphis' Cormac McArdle snuck a sliding one-timer inside the right post in the 23rd minute, but was ruled offside. Billiken keeper Pat Disbennett was alert to come up with Memphis midfielder Dayton O'Brien's wind-blown corner kick in the 26th minute that was bending toward the far post.

"It was a mental lapse for us on that goal," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan. "Our goalkeeper got caught in between staying on his line and coming off. We didn't mark up, so two Memphis players were free in front of the goal, and that can't happen. We wanted to get to halftime without giving up a goal, so we could play with the wind. But we just didn't get it done."

Directly in front of the Memphis goal from eight yards, Billiken leading scorer Will John had a golden opportunity in the 39th minute after a centering pass, but shot it right at Tigers keeper Sebastian Vecchio at the right post. Memphis finally broke through in the 41st minute when defender Michael Coburn's serve from the right flank found Daniel Dobson at the top of the SLU penalty area. Dobson's flick toward the SLU goal was headed past SLU's Disbennett by senior midfielder John Reilly. Memphis had a 4-2 edge in first half shots.

With the wind at their backs in the second half, Saint Louis pressured early but couldn't penetrate the Memphis defense. The Bills out-shot the Tigers 4-3 in the second half, but never severely tested Tigers keeper Sebastian Vecchio.

"Despite the outcome today, our future is bright," Donigan said. "I love this team, and we've got a lot of talented people returning. Right now, it's just difficult to accept."

Memphis (15-3-1) out-shot Saint Louis 7-6, but the Bills had a 4-2 edge in corners. Vecchio made only one save to post his fifth straight shutout. Disbennett made one stop for the Bills. The Tigers advance to the C-USA final on Sunday afternoon against the winner of the UAB/Charlotte semifinal.

Billiken defender Brett Branan and midfielder Alex Matteson were named to the All-Tournament Team.

MEMPHIS 1, SAINT LOUIS 0
MEM  40:22  John Reilly 8 yds from Daniel Dobson, Michael Coburn
SLU 76:12  Matteson 15 yds from Danny Wynn

Shots: SLU - 6, MEM - 7 Corners: SLU - 4, MEM - 2 Saves: SLU - 1 (Disbennett), MEM - 1 (Vecchio) Fouls: SLU - 12, MEM - 9