South Florida earned the inside track to host the American Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship after action on Thursday, Oct. 21.

Wednesday, October 20
SMU 2, Temple 0 - Box Score

Thursday, October 21
UCF 2, East Carolina 0 - Box Score
South Florida 2, Cincinnati 0 - Box Score
Houston 1, Memphis 0 - Box Score

SMU 2, Temple 0 - Box Score
DALLAS (SMU) – No. 16 SMU women's soccer defeated Temple, 2-0, at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium Wednesday. The Mustangs wore pink kits to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.
 
The shutout, SMU's eighth of the season, featured a 25-3 shot differential between the Mustangs and the Owls, with SMU placing 12 shots on goal.
 
With the win, SMU improved to 9-2-2 overall and 3-1-2 in the American Athletic Conference. The record includes a 5-1-1 mark at home.
 
Temple goalkeeper Kamryn Stablein had seven saves in the first half, but Alina Khan gave her no chance in the 32nd minute. With the ball near the end line, Sammy Nieves put the brakes on and delivered a perfect pass that found Khan in stride. The sophomore hit the shot with her first touch and placed the ball perfectly across the goal into the top left corner.
 
While Temple (5-6-3, 2-4-0 The American) added just one to its shot total in the second half, SMU came out on the front foot again, putting four of 11 second-half shots on target. The one that made it to the back of the net came on a close-range rocket from Brigitta Pulins.
 
Dribbling alone through the midfield with teammates on either wing, Pulins sent the ball to Lindsey Whitmore on the left inside the 18-yard box. Whitmore unselfishly sent the ball back across the box to Pulins who buried it into the back of the net from jus six yards away.
 
Khan, who started the match, and Pulins found themselves playing more minutes at the top of the SMU attack as Wayny Balata and Jasmine Vilgrain did not play due to injury.
 
Petrucelli also made a change at the back end of the formation as goalkeeper Samatha Estrada returned to the lineup, making saves on all three of Temple's shots.

UCF 2, East Carolina 0 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The UCF women's soccer team (7-5-1, 2-3-1 AAC) went on the road Thursday night to pick up an important win late in the season over East Carolina (7-8-2, 2-3-2 AAC) in Greenville.
 
It took 35 minutes for the Knights to open the scoring, as Ariel Young netted her second goal of the 2021 campaign. Senior Madison Murnin earned her third assist of the year, sending the ball into the box that Young was able to head into the back of the net.
 
Just minutes after halftime, Katie Bradley added to the UCF lead, volleying a loose ball in the box past the ECU keeper for her second goal of the year. Knights' goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle made seven saves in the contest to earn the shutout, her sixth of the year and the second in a row.

South Florida 2, Cincinnati 0 - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida women's soccer team maintained its first-place position in the American Athletic Conference standings with a 2-0 win over Cincinnati on Thursday night.
 
With the win and Memphis' loss to Houston tonight, the Bulls control their own destiny for the American Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship and hosting rights for the AAC Tournament. 
 
Sydny Nasello tallied a brace in the game, her fourth career game with multiple goals and second this season. Sydney Martinez posted her fifth shutout of the season with a pair of saves in the game.
 
The Bulls grabbed the lead early. Nasello dribbled into the box and drew a foul to set up a penalty-kick. The Cincinnati goalkeeper guessed incorrectly and Nasello sank the shot to put the Bulls up 1-0 in the 20th minute.
 
After taking the 1-0 lead into halftime, the Bulls kept the pressure going into the second frame. Just seven minutes into the period, Nasello forced a Bearcat turnover and found herself with a shooting lane. She turned the opportunity into a goal, netting her tenth of the year to give USF a 2-0 lead.

Houston 1, Memphis 0 - Box Score
HOUSTON – Houston Soccer left the Carl Lewis International Complex on Thursday with a big upset 1-0 win over No. 23 nationally-ranked Memphis (10-3-1, 4-2-0 AAC). The Cougars improved 11-4-2 on their overall season record, with an American Athletic Conference record of 3-2-1.
 
After remaining scoreless in the bulk of the match, redshirt freshman Nadia Kamassah saw a lucky unassisted opportunity in the 88th minute. A Elizabeth Moberg clearance caromed off Kamassah into the net to seal the victory for Houston. Kamassah's game-winning score tallied her sixth goal of the season.
 
In the second half alone, the Cougars out-shot the Tigers 10-3 with Memphis making five saves in comparison to the Houston's one. The shutout brought goalkeeper Mikaela Gracia's tally up to eight clean sheets on the season.