ORLANDO, Florida – Tulsa striker Alex Meinhard, who was named yesterday as the American Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year, buried the deciding penalty kick to send the No. 2-seeded Golden Hurricane past No. 3-seeded Temple Thursday afternoon in the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Championship at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods before Tulsa (6-3-2) advanced to the final with a 3-1 advantage in penalties.
Goalkeeper Lucas Cline made two stops in the penalty kick round for the Golden Hurricane, which advances to Saturday’s championship final, where Tulsa will face the winner of Thursday’s second semifinal between No. 4-seeded SMU and top-seeded UCF. Tulsa will play in the final for the fourth time in the eight-year history of The American Championship and will look for its fourth tournament title (2014, 2015, 2016).
Cline made a diving stop on Temple’s first penalty kick and the Owls’ second attempt missed high, while Tulsa connected on its first two attempts as Alvaro Torrijos and Chase Bromstedt found the back of the net. Cline denied Brady O’Connor on Temple’s third attempt, but Eoin Gawronski kept the Owls alive with a big stop on Tulsa’s third attempt. After Jalen Campbell struck for Temple for the Owls’ first successful PK, Meinhard calmly ended it with a shot to the middle that went past a diving Gawronski.
After a scoreless first half in which the teams combined for only three shots, Torrijos broke the deadlock after Tulsa gained a corner kick in the 51st minute. Marcos Moreno sent the corner in to Ben Barkley, who was able to feather a pass out to Torrijos at the top of the box. Torrijos’ hit a one-timer past Eoin Gawronski.
The Golden Hurricane nearly added to their lead in the 72nd minute when Bromstedt one-timed a long cross-field pass toward goal only to see the ball bounce off the far post.
Temple took advantage two minutes later to tie the score when Campbell tucked in a cross from Mickael Borger in the 74th minute, capping a buildup that started in the Owl defensive zone and knotting the game at 1-1.
Temple had the best chance in the first overtime period when Campbell gathered a cross inside the box with what looked like a clear path to goal, but Barkley recovered defensively for Tulsa to get a foot on Campbell’s shot and send it wide. Nigel Griffin had another chance for the Owls, but his open header in the 97th minute sailed wide.
Mariano Fazio nearly ended it for Tulsa off a corner kick in the 99th minute, but his header deflected off the left post.
The second overtime saw Temple with the best chance as the Owls earned a free kick just outside the box with 2:45 remaining. Fabian Grant bent a shot around the Tulsa wall, but Cline got a hand on it and sent it over the bar for a key save.
Tulsa finished with a 10-8 advantage in shots, while Temple (5-4-2) had a slight 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Cline and Gawronski were both credited with two saves.
2020 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship
UCF Soccer Complex | Orlando, Florida
Semifinals – Thursday, April 15
No. 2 Tulsa 1, No. 3 Temple 1 (Tulsa advances on penalty kicks, 3-1)
No. 4 SMU (5-5-0) vs. No. 1 UCF (7-3-0) | 7:38 p.m. ET/6:38 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Final – Saturday, April 17
Tulsa (6-3-2) vs. SMU/UCF winner | 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)