STORRS, Conn. - No. 3 SMU and No. 1 UConn will battle it out Sunday in the American Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championship with a chance for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The championship match will air live on ESPNU at 2 p.m. ET.
The teams have met once this season. In said match, neither team was able to score as after 110 minutes and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. SMU led in shots 20-10. Emily Armstrong made eight saves in the match for the Huskies. UConn's Stephanie Ribeiro and SMU's Hannah Fleet each had four shots in the draw. SMU's head coach Chris Petrucelli and UConn's Len Tsantiris were named the leagues Co-Coaches of the Year.
SMU is the only team in the conference to tie the Huskies this season. The Mustangs are led by Allie Thornton and Claire Oates, who each have 10 goals this season. Oates scored her 10
th goal in the conference semifinals. Her header provided the game-winner in the match as the Mustangs defeated Memphis to advance to the conference championship. On the defensive front, goalkeeper Catie Brown has recorded four complete shutouts this season with her most recent coming in the conference semifinals.
UConn comes into the match after winning the conference regular season title. The Huskies posted an 8-0-1 record in conference play with their only tie coming against SMU. Ribeiro leads the conference as well as the nation with 20 goals this season. She is tied for fifth at UConn for goals scored in a single season and was this season's Offensive Player of the Year. Armstrong, the American Goalkeeper of the Year, has recorded 10 complete shutouts this season with her most recent coming in the conference semifinals.
For more information about the conference championship, check out Champ Central at theamerican.org/wsoccer.