2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament

Last updated

2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament
2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Logo.svg
Tournament Logo
Classification Division I
Teams6
Matches5
Site UCF Soccer and Track Stadium
Orlando, Florida
Champions SMU (2nd title)
Winning coachKevin Hudson (2nd title)
MVP Offensive: Emil Cuello (SMU)
Defensive: Grant Makela (SMU)
Broadcast American Digital Network, ESPN3
American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament
«2017   2019»
2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 18 UCF + 5 1 113 3 3
SMU ‡+ 5 1 110 5 3
South Florida 4 1 27 8 2
Connecticut + 3 2 212 6 2
Memphis 2 4 18 7 4
Temple 2 4 15 10 4
Tulsa 2 5 06 9 2
Cincinnati 1 6 03 14 1
As of December 11, 2018
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The 2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament was the 6th edition of the American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament decided the American Athletic Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The tournament began on November 6 and concluded on November 10. [1]

Contents

In a rematch of the 2017 AAC championship, defending champions, SMU, successfully defended their title. The final match was a 1-1 draw in regulation before SMU bested UCF in penalty kicks to claim their second-ever AAC championship. SMU midfielder, Emil Cuello was named the Offensive Most valuable player of the tournament, while SMU's Grant Makela was named the Defensive Most valuable player of the tournament.

As champions, SMU earned the conference's automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Tournament. In addition to SMU, regular season champions and tournament runners-up, UCF earned an at-large bid, as well as Connecticut. In the NCAA Tournament, SMU was eliminated in the first round by Oregon State. Connecticut beat Rhode Island in the first round before losing to Indiana in the second round. UCF was seeded 14th in NCAA Tournament, and earned a second round bye. There, UCF lost to Lipscomb in overtime.

Seeds

Seed [2] SchoolConferenceTiebreaker
1UCF5–1–1UCF 1–0 vs. SMU [3]
2SMU5–1–1SMU 0–1 vs. UCF [3]
3South Florida4–1–2
4Connecticut3–2–2
5Temple2–4–1Goal differential
6Memphis2–4–1Goal differential

Bracket

First round
Nov. 6
Semifinals
Nov. 8
Final
Nov. 10
1 UCF (2OT) 3
4 Connecticut 34 Connecticut 2
5 Temple 1 1 UCF 1 (4)
2 SMU (pen.) 1 (5)
2 SMU (OT) 2
3 South Florida 1 6 Memphis 1
6 Memphis 3

Results

First round

No. 3 South Florida 1–3No. 6 Memphis
  • Zis Soccerball shade.svg33'
Report

No. 4 Connecticut 3–1No. 5 Temple
Report

Semifinals

No. 2 SMU 2–1 (a.e.t.)No. 6 Memphis
Report

No. 1 UCF 3–2 (a.e.t.)No. 4 Connecticut
Report

Final

No. 1 UCF 1–1 (a.e.t.)No. 2 SMU
Report
Penalties
4–5
UCF Soccer and Track Stadium
Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,108
Referee: Jorge Luna Hernandez

Statistics

Top goalscorers

1 Goal
Own goals
  • Flag of the United States.svg Nick Sarver — Temple (playing against Connecticut)

Awards and honors

All-Tournament team: [4]

References

  1. "2018 Men's Soccer Championship Central". theamerican.org. September 11, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. "Bracket Set for the 2018 Men's Soccer Championship". theamerican.org. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Mustangs Drop 2-0 Decision to Knights". smumustangs.com. September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  4. "UNH Wins First-Ever #AEMSOC Title". theamerican.org. American Athletic Conference. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.