CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE
ORLANDO – SMU claimed its third-straight American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship crown on Saturday, with the Mustangs holding top-seeded UCF scoreless in a 1-0 shutout. The No. 2 seed Mustangs secure the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship field.
Eddie Munjoma tapped in the lone goal for the No. 10-ranked Mustangs early in the first, and SMU’s defense completed what no team had yet this season, dealing UCF its first shutout. The No. 5-ranked Knights (14-2-2) had previously been unbeaten in the last 16 contests.
Mustang goalkeeper Grant Makela collected his fourth shutout of the season, making four stops. For the Knights, Louis Perez recorded a game-high five shots with two on net, while goalkeeper Yannik Oettl made five saves.
SMU’s (16-1-1) counter pressure was hot early, forcing Oettl to make four saves in the first 20 minutes. The Mustangs managed to get one by in the 24th minute, when Lane Warrington’s pass caught the UCF defense on the opposite side, resulting in the tap-in by Munjoma.
UCF saw its share of chances in the rest of the half, including a try by Hattabiou Barry in the 35th minute that sailed just inches high and a ball in the net called offside in the 43rd minute. At the break, shots were even at six apiece with SMU putting five on goal.
The Knights continued to command most of possession into the second half, and again it was Barry who struck for the best chance, this time with a shot off the crossbar in the 59th minute. All said, UCF outshot the Mustangs 13-3 in the second half with six of 13 total corner kicks, but the Mustang defense held strong, keeping the Knights off the board.
Munjoma, The American’s Defensive Player of the Year, earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors for the tournament, while Makela was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Fellow Mustangs Gabriel Costa, Nicky Hernandez and Brandon Terwege were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
SMU and UCF are both NCAA Championship bound, as the full 48-team field will be announced Monday. Heading into selection, the Mustangs are ranked No. 9 in the RPI, while UCF sits at No. 3. It marks the first time in conference history two teams enter the postseason in the top 10 of both the RPI and the Coaches’ Poll. USF, Memphis and Temple also remain on the cusp of the tournament field, with respective RPI rankings of 30, 35 and 37.
Fans can watch the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer selection show Monday at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
2019 American Athletic Conference
Men’s Soccer Championship
Saturday, Nov. 9 – First Round
Hosted at campus sites
Game 1: No. 3 USF 1, No. 6 UConn 0
Game 2: No. 5 Temple 2, No. 4 Memphis 1 (2OT)
Wednesday, Nov. 13 – Semifinals
Hosted by UCF
Game 3: No. 2 SMU 2, No. 3 USF 1 (2OT)
Game 4: No. 1 UCF 5, No. 5 Temple 0
Saturday, Nov. 16 – Championship
Hosted by UCF
Game 5: No. 2 SMU 1, No. 1 UCF 0
Most Outstanding Offensive Player
Eddie Munjoma, SMU
Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Grant Makela, SMU
All-Tournament Team
Adrian Billhardt, Jr., F, USF
Pierre Cayet, Sr., D, Temple
Cal Jennings, Sr., F, UCF
Yannik Oettl, Jr., GK, UCF
Louis Perez, Jr., M, UCF
Gino Vivi, Fr., M, UCF
Gabriel Costa, So., M, SMU
Grant Makela, Jr., GK, SMU
Eddie Munjoma, Sr., D, SMU
Brandon Terwege, Jr., D, SMU
Nicky Hernandez, Jr., M, SMU