South Florida picked up a win over Memphis to take over first place in the American Athletic Conference women's soccer standings on Sunday, Oct. 17.

Sunday, October 17
Temple 2, Houston 1 - Box Score
East Carolina 2, Tulsa 2 (2OT) - Box Score
SMU 2, Cincinnati 2 (2OT) - Box Score
South Florida 1, Memphis 0 (2OT) - Box Score

Temple 2, Houston 1 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – Temple women's soccer (5-5-3, 2-3-0 AAC) picked up their second conference win of the season in a hard-fought battle over third-seeded Houston (10-4-2, 2-2-1 AAC) on Sunday afternoon. A pair of Hailey Gutowski goals paved the way for the Owls success, resulting in a 2-1 win.
 
The Cougars entered the match hoping to take the early lead, rattling off five shots in the first 20 minutes of play.

In the 24th minute, the Cherry and White took advantage of their opportunity, capitalizing on just their second shot of the game. Sumaya Togba made a run down the right wing, beating her defender by just a step to send a cross into the box for a streaking Gutowski. As Houston goalkeeper Mikaela Gracia came out to make the play, Gutowski controlled the ball off the bounce, inching around Gracia for the tap-in.

The Owls held on to the lead for the remainder of the half, allowing six more shots, with only two on goal for the Kamryn Stablein saves.

Temple entered the second half firing on all cylinders, outshooting the Cougars three to one by the 53rdminute.
In the 60th minute, Gutowski, an offensive spark for the Owls, made a run down the left wing to send a shot towards the far post. The ball hit the woodwork before bouncing across the goal line for the 2-0 cushion.

The Houston offense ramped up the pressure in an attempt to close in on the lead, but the Temple backline anchored by Roisin McGovern and Erin Theiller stood strong, blocking a series of shots as time ticked down.

The Cougars were finally able to slip through the Owl defense in the 86th minute as Madison Dichiara tapped the ball into the net off a scramble inside the box.

East Carolina 2, Tulsa 2 (2OT) - Box Score
TULSA, OKLA. – After falling behind twice, the East Carolina soccer team battled back each time to salvage a 2-2 draw at Tulsa on Sunday afternoon.
 
East Carolina is now 7-7-2 on the season with a 2-2-2 conference mark, while Tulsa is 6-7-2 overall with a 1-4-1 league mark.
 
The Pirates fell behind in just the fifth minute. An East Carolina turnover just outside the Pirate penalty area had ECU scrambling to cover. The Golden Hurricane shifted the ball to Mia Darden at the top of the box and she was able to curl in a shot that caught the left post and went in for the opening goal.
 
East Carolina answered back in the 19th minute with a goal very similar to Tulsa's. Off a Golden Hurricane throw-in deep in its own defensive zone, the Pirates put Tulsa under pressure. That defensive pressure led to Tori Riggs picking off a pass and sending it to Haley McWhirter who was charging in from the halfway line. McWhirter received the pass 25 yards out and took a low-flying shot that beat Tulsa goalkeeper Emma Malsy to tie the game.
 
Unfortunately for East Carolina, Tulsa regained the lead early in the second stanza. In the 56th minute, a Pirate foul gave the Golden Hurricane a free kick on the left wing. Tulsa swung a cross into the East Carolina box and Emily Brandenburg was able to rise up and head into the far post.
 
Once again, the Pirates had an answer for the Golden Hurricane. In the 74th minute, the Pirates forced a turnover, this one in its own defensive zone. Grace Doran was the Pirate who pounced on the ball and she quickly passed it forward to Annabelle Abbott. Abbott in turn found McWhirter just inside the halfway line and McWhirter played a one-touch pass that sprung Riggs into space behind the Tulsa defense. Riggs raced in on goal and she calmly slotted past an onrushing Malsy.
 
The game remained level through the end of regulation, sending the teams to overtime. It was the sixth overtime game of the season for the Pirates.
 
In the first overtime period, both teams struggled to put shots on goal. The Golden Hurricane took four shots, three of which missed the goal frame while Maeve English made a save on the fourth. The Pirates had a pair of shots blocked and one sail wide. In the second overtime, the Pirates were the aggressor, taking four shots, including one from Morgan Dewey that required a save from Malsy. But neither team could not find the game-winning goal, with the final whistle signaling a draw.

SMU 2, Cincinnati 2 (2OT) - Box Score
CINCINNATI, Ohio (SMU) – No. 20 SMU and Cincinnati played to a 3-3, double-overtime draw Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium on the campus of Cincinnati.
 
The overtime contest is the third this season for the Mustangs (0-1-2), who are 8-2-2 overall and 2-1-2 in the American Athletic Conference.
 
Wayny Balata put the Mustangs on the board first in the high-scoring affair, converting a penalty kick in the 20th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, Cincinnati's leading scorer, Vanessa DiNardo, equalized. With the ball loose in the SMU box after a Cincinnati corner kick, DiNardo beat Tatum Sutherland to the right side of the goal.
 
DiNardo would put the Bearcats (6-5-3, 1-2-2 The American) in the lead just before halftime. Sutherland was forced to head the ball away at the edge of the 18-yard box. However, the clearance went to DiNardo, who settled and sent a shot over the outstretched hand of the SMU goalkeeper to put Cincinnati up, 2-1, in the 41st minute.
 
Less than four minutes apart, Sammy Nieves and Mackenzie Rudden each scored their first goal of the season to put SMU back in front. Late in the 64th minute, Nieves received a ball about 12 yard in front of the net. With space, she delivered the shot to the top left corner to even the score.
 
Early in the 68th minute, Courtney Sebazco delivered a cross from right to left that was caught then dropped by the Cincinnati goalkeeper at the near post. Rudden was there to kick the loose ball into the net for the third SMU goal of the contest, the Mustangs' highest scoring match in conference play.
 
Overall, SMU was out-shot 18-13 by the Bearcats, but the Mustangs had 10 shots on goal to Cincinnati's seven on target. The penalty kick was SMU's second of the season, with Sebazco scoring from the spot at Rice. It was Balata's third goal of the season.

South Florida 1, Memphis 0 (2OT) - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida women's soccer team earned its fifth overtime win of the season in a 1-0 decision at Memphis on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls (9-3-2) reclaimed the first-place spot in the conference standings with a 4-1-1 record and 13 points in league play, while Tigers fell to 10-2-1 overall and 4-1-0 in conference play.
 
Sydney Martinez recorded her fourth shutout of the season with six saves in 105 minutes of play. Katie Kitching scored the game-winner for the Bulls in the second extra time period.
 
In the first half, the teams seemed evenly matched. While Memphis had a 4-3 advantage in shots, USF lead in shots on goal, 3-2.
 
Memphis' attack tried to force a decision in regulation. The Tigers stepped up their offensive efforts, outshooting the Bulls, 11-7, in the second frame, but Martinez made four saves to force USF's seventh overtime session this season.
 
South Florida's offense took over in overtime. In the first extra period, the Bulls took three shots while ceding none and continued the surge in the second OT frame. After a shot from Sydny Nasello was blocked, the deflection found its way to Kitching who chipped it into the net over the Memphis keeper to seal the 1-0 win.