PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Women’s soccer will take center stage for the American Athletic Conference this week as the league’s 10 programs kick off the 2019-20 sports calendar. Nine teams are in action on Thursday night to open the season and nearly every squad plays a pair of matches over the first weekend.
 
USF was ranked No. 18 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll and 14th by TopDrawer Soccer, while Memphis checked in at No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and 24th by TopDrawer Soccer. SMU also received votes in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll.
 
The opening weekend of contests feature matchups against three teams – Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech – ranked in the preseason polls, while three additional games are scheduled against teams receiving votes in the preseason polls (Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss).
 
The complete American schedule can be seen here.
 
Defending American regular season champion USF opens at home on Thursday night against Auburn (7 p.m.) before a test with in-state opponent Florida on Sunday night (6 p.m.). Memphis, which claimed its first American Women’s Soccer Championship last fall, opens 2019 at home against Little Rock on Thursday (8 p.m.) before a home contest with Ole Miss on Sunday night.
 
The first American team to kick off in 2019 is Cincinnati, which takes on St. John’s Thursday afternoon (4:30 p.m.) in Harrisonburg, Va., before a matchup at No. 25 Virginia Tech on Sunday. UCF hosts No. 16 Wisconsin in Orlando to open its schedule (Thursday, 6 p.m.), while Temple travels to No. 23 Wake Forest.
 
USF was tabbed for the league’s top spot in the 2019 American Athletic Conference women’s soccer preseason coaches’ poll, edging Memphis by four points in the rankings. Both teams garnered four first-place votes, while UCF took the final two first-place votes and was picked third by the coaches in the preseason.