IRVING, Texas – The bracket is now official for the four-team 2020 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship, set to take place on April 15 and April 17 at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex in Orlando, Florida. UCF earned the right to host for the third consecutive American Men’s Soccer Championship after finishing atop the 2020 conference standings.
The first tournament semifinal between No. 2 Tulsa and No. 3 Temple is scheduled for April 15 at 4 p.m. (ET)/3 p.m. (CT). That match will be followed by No. 1 UCF against No. 4 SMU at approximately 7 p.m. (ET). The championship match is set for 7 p.m. (ET) on April 17. All three matches from the American Men’s Soccer Championship will air live on ESPN+.
No. 1 Seed UCF (7-3-0, 21 points) is the tournament’s top seed for the third straight season and is in search of its first victory in the American Men’s Soccer Championship. The Knights are the first three-time tournament host (2018-20) since The American was reconstituted in 2013. UCF stormed to the front of the league table with six straight wins to close the season to earn 21 points and clinch the top slot in the conference. The Knights have finished as the event runner-up to SMU each of the last three editions of The American championship.
No. 2 Seed Tulsa (6-3-1, 19 points) returns to the American Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time since winning the conference title three straight seasons from 2014-16. The Golden Hurricane was also the No. 2 seed during championship victories in 2014 and 2016. Tulsa closed the regular season an unblemished 4-0-1 in home matches during the conference campaign, which featured a 3-1 win over top-seeded UCF as part of a season sweep of the Knights.
No. 3 Seed Temple (5-4-1, 16 points) returns to the tournament semifinal round for the third time in four seasons after securing a bid into the American Men’s Soccer Championship. The Owls earned their inaugural American tournament victory during the first round against Memphis in a six-team bracket in the 2019 championship. Temple fashioned a 3-2-1 mark against the three other championship qualifiers during the regular season, including dealing then national No. 2 SMU its first loss of the season in March as part of a season sweep of the Mustangs.
No. 4 Seed SMU (5-5-0, 15 points) enters the tournament as the three-time defending American Men’s Soccer Championship winner dating back to the 2017 campaign. The Mustangs look to surpass their current deadlock with Tulsa for The American’s high watermark with an unprecedented fourth straight conference tournament title. SMU was a combined 1-5-0 against the tournament’s other three qualifiers during the regular season, earning a win over No. 2 seed Tulsa by a 3-0 final score.
2020 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship
April 15 & 17, 2021
UCF Soccer and Track Complex
Orlando, Florida
Semifinals - Thursday, April 15
No. 2 Tulsa vs. No. 3 Temple – 4 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
No. 1 UCF vs. No. 4 SMU – 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Final - Saturday, April 17
Semifinal winners – 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)