Championship Central


Bracket


Watch live on The American Digital Network


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - For the 2015 season, The American has adopted a new championship format. Eight of the league’s 10 women’s soccer teams qualified for the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship and will compete for the championship title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tournament seeding is based on points accumulated through league play.

The championship will take place at Westcott Field on the SMU campus in Dallas. The quarterfinals will be held on Nov. 3, while the semifinals will take place on Nov. 5. All games of both rounds will be aired for free on The American Digital Network. The final will be on Sunday, Nov. 8 and will be aired live on ESPN 3/WatchESPN, with a tape delay at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

The first quarterfinal game will be at 11 a.m. CT, between No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 5 Tulsa. The teams will face off for the second consecutive game, after closing out the regular season on Oct. 25 at Gettler Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bearcats earned a 1-0 win in the previous match, with the game-winning goal by Jaycie Brown. Cincinnati wrapped up the regular season with an 11-5-4 overall record, and 5-3-1 record in conference play. Tulsa went 13-5-1 overall, and 4-4-1 in The American. The winner of the match on Tuesday will go on to Thursday’s semifinals to play the winner of UConn/East Carolina at 5 p.m. CT.

Watch No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 5 Tulsa live on The American Digital Network

 
No. 1 UConn and No. 8 East Carolina will play at 1:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, which will mark the teams’ third meeting in history. In their previous encounter on Oct. 8 at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn., the Huskies defeated the Pirates 3-0. In their first match in 2014 UConn claimed a 2-1 overtime victory against East Carolina. UConn is nationally ranked by NSCAA (No. 11) and Soccer America (No. 14), as the team finished the regular season 16-2-0 and 8-1-0 in The American. East Carolina concluded the regular season with an 8-9-2 overall record and finished 3-5-1 in league play. The Huskies’ goalkeeper Emily Armstrong has a conference-best 0.50 goals against average in conference play, while East Carolina goalie Saundra Baron leads the league in saves in conference play (55). The winner will advance to the semifinals and face the winner of the Cincinnati/Tulsa match at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday.

Watch No. 1 UConn vs. No. 8 East Carolina live on The American Digital Network


No. 2 USF and No. 7 Memphis are set to face off at 4:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, as the teams compete for their first win against each other this year. On Oct. 11, Memphis netted a pair of first-half goals and then-No. 24/NR USF recorded two second-half goals as the teams played to a 2-2 (2OT) draw at Corbett Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The two goals scored by the Tigers were the first and only two goals that the Bulls allowed at home this season. USF’s overall record is 13-3-2, with a 6-2-1 finish in The American, and is currently ranked No. 24 in both the NSCAA and Soccer America polls. Memphis went 8-7-3 overall, and 3-4-2 in conference play this season. The winner of the match will go on to play the winner of UCF/Temple in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday.

Watch No. 2 USF vs. No. 7 Memphis live on The American Digital Network


No. 3 UCF and No. 6 Temple will meet in the postseason for the first time, competing in the final quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. CT.  UCF beat Temple in the conference opener at UCF Soccer Complex in Orlando, Fla. Kayla Adamek scored the Knights’ game-winning goal just before halftime. UCF leads the league in conference play in points (53), goals (17) and assists (19), while Temple has the most overall points (106) and goals (41). Junior forward Carol Rodrigues has a conference-high 15 points and six goals in league play. Overall, Rodrigues ranks second in the conference in points (27) and goals (11), right behind Temple senior Kelly Farrell. Farrell leads the American Athletic Conference with 12 goals and 28 points this season in overall play. The quarterfinal winner will advance to face No. 24 USF or Memphis in Thursday’s semifinal matchup at 7:30 p.m. ET.


Watch No. 3 UCF and No. 6 Temple live on The American Digital Network



Tickets for each competition day can be purchased from the SMU ticket office at (214) 768-4263.
 
For more information on The American Women's Soccer Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org.



2015 American Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship Schedule

Tuesday, November 3 - Quarterfinals
Live on The American Digital Network

Q1 - No. 4  Cincinnati vs. No. 5 Tulsa.......................11 a.m. CT
Q2 - No. 1 UConn vs. No. 8 East Carolina...........1:30 p.m. CT
Q3 - No. 2 USF vs. No. 7 Memphis........................4:30 p.m. CT
Q4 - No. 3 UCF vs. No. 6 Temple................................7 p.m. CT


Thursday, November 5- Semifinals
Live on The American Digital Network

Winner Q1 vs. Winner Q2.............................................5 p.m. CT
Winner Q3 vs. Winner Q4........................................7:30 p.m. CT


Sunday, November 8 - Championship
ESPN3/Watch ESPN - Live; ESPNU - Tape Delay at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT

Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2....................1 p.m. CT