CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | STANDINGS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UCF earned the top overall seed and will host next week’s American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The Knights and No. 2 seed SMU share the 2018 regular season title as both teams picked up victories on Friday evening.
The Knights (12-2-2, 5-1-1) defeated Cincinnati 1-0 and SMU (9-4-2, 5-1-1) knocked off Temple 2-1, giving both squads 16 points to close the regular season. By virtue of UCF’s 2-0 win over the Mustangs on Sept. 28, the UCF Track & Soccer Complex in Orlando, Fla. will serve as the site for next week’s Championship.
The tournament features a single-elimination format beginning with the first round on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Tuesday’s contests and Thursday’s semifinals will be streamed live on the American Digital Network. The championship, slated for Saturday, Nov. 10, will be available live on ESPN3. The tournament champion will earn the league’s automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.
The Knights, ranked No. 9 nationally this week, collect the program’s first regular season title since 2004. Head coach Scott Calabrese’s team boasts one of the nation’s top offenses, led by one of Division I’s most consistent goal scorers in junior Cal Jennings. UCF tops the conference and sits in the top five nationally with 7.60 points and 2.60 goals per game, and set a conference single-game record with eight goals against Jacksonville on Oct. 2.
UCF will meet the winner of Tuesday’s first round matchup between No. 4 seed UConn (10-4-2, 3-2-2) and No. 5 seed Temple (5-9-4, 2-4-1). The Huskies prevailed over the Owls during the regular season by a narrow 2-1 score, with both goals coming from the foot of senior Abdou Mbacke Thiam.
SMU earns the regular season title for the second-straight season after taking the outright crown last season. Friday’s title is SMU’s third in the past five seasons, with head coach Kevin Hudson’s squad looking to repeat as tournament champions next week. The Mustangs feature the conference’s top defense, permitting just 12 goals on the season with a 0.82 goals against average.
No. 3 seed USF (7-7-2, 4-1-2) and No. 6 seed Memphis (7-6-4, 2-4-1) will meet for the second-straight contest for the rights to face SMU in Thursday’s semifinals. The Bulls bumped ahead of UConn for the third slot thanks to Friday’s 2-0 win over the Tigers.
Live coverage will be available throughout the championship at TheAmerican.org/MSoccer and on the conference’s social media platforms:
@American_MSoc on Twitter and
American_Conf on Facebook.
2018 American Athletic Conference
Men’s Soccer Championship
Host: UCF
Tuesday, Nov. 6 – First Round
Game 1: No. 3 USF vs. No. 6 Memphis – 4:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 4 UConn vs. No. 5 Temple – 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, Nov. 8 – Semifinals
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 2 SMU – 4:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 1 UCF – 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 10 – Championship
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 7 p.m. ET