Five American Athletic Conference women's soccer teams picked up season-opening victories on Thursday, August 18.

Thursday, August 18
UCF 3, Florida 0 - Box Score
Cincinnati 2, Northern Kentucky 0 - Box Score
Tulsa 3, Mid-America Christian 0 - Box Score
No. 22 Memphis 6, Little Rock 1 - Box Score
No. 23 SMU 2, Rice 1 - Box Score
Maryland 1, Temple 1 - Box Score
Houston 1, Oklahoma 1 - Box Score
No. 2 Duke 1, East Carolina 0 - Box Score

Recaps
UCF 3, Florida 0 - Box Score
ORLANDO – The UCF women's soccer team started its 2022 campaign with a 3-0 win over Florida at the UCF Soccer Complex on Thursday night.

After the Knights and Gators each put up four shots in the first half to enter the intermission scoreless, the Black and Gold came out firing in the second half.

Eight minutes into the second half, Polly Watson found the foot of Kristen Scott on a beautiful ball who weaved past the keeper to score on an empty net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

It was a lead they would never relinquish and one they would quickly add on to. Mathilde Kack hit Dayana Martin, who put the ball into the back of the net to go up 2-0 in the 77th minute.

Seven minutes later, Martin would look for a second goal but her shot bounced off the post, and Mallory Olson was right there for the rebound as she put the Knights up 3-0 with eight minutes remaining.

Cincinnati 2, Northern Kentucky 0 - Box Score
CINCINNATI – Vyviene Spaulding and Brandi Thomsen notched goals to lift the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Northern Kentucky in the season opener on Thursday night at Gettler Stadium.

Despite outshooting the Norse 10-0, Cincinnati (1-0-0) found itself deadlocked in a scoreless draw at the break. In the 49th minute, Spaulding collected a deflected ball at the top of the box before finding the top left corner of the net for her first goal as a Bearcat.
 
The Bearcats' offense kept attacking the Norse backline and found its second strike 10 minutes later. Taylor Nuncio controlled a ball in the final third before connecting with Thomsen in the middle of the box, who fired a shot past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper in the 60th minute for her third career goal.
 
Cincinnati goalkeeper Anna Rexford and the defense took care out the rest to register the first clean sheet of the season.
 
Cincinnati dominated for much of the night, finishing with a 17-2 advantage in shots and 7-2 edge in corner kicks. The 17 shots are the most since the Bearcats registered 18 in a double overtime draw against SMU on Oct. 17, 2021.

Tulsa 3, Mid-America Christian 0 - Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. -- Tulsa got a pair of goals from Madison Tokarchik in a 3-0 shutout win over Mid-America Christian on Thursday (Aug. 18) on the road at Dill Soccer Field. The win improved Tulsa's record to 1-0-0 overall.

Tulsa broke the 0-0 tie when Tokarchik recorded a goal in the eighth minute. The Golden Hurricane increased their lead to 2-0 on a goal from Tokarchik in the 50th minute.

Tulsa made it a 3-0 advantage on Emily Brandenburg's 85th-minute goal. Karsen Aguirre assisted the goal. Neither team scored again in the match.

No. 22 Memphis 6, Little Rock 1 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Tigers opened the season with a bang with a 6-1 victory over the Trojans of Little Rock.
 
Jocelyn Alonzo netted the first goal of the season at the 4' when Grace Stordy found her open in the back of the box for the early 1-0 lead. After Little Rock netted their first goal of the year in the 6', Memphis would get back-to-back goals from Mya Jones and Anne-Valerie Seto to take a 3-1 lead going into the break.

Freshman Zoe May continued the offensive excellence for Memphis in the second half, claiming her first goal of the season off a corner kick from Alonzo in the 48'.

Lilly Huber got in on the action when she scored in the 78' off a rebounded shot in the box while Seto rounded out the Tigers scoring with her second goal of the game in the 78' to give Memphis the 6-1 win.

No. 23 SMU 2, Rice 1 - Box Score
DALLAS -- No. 23 SMU opened its season with a 2-1 win over Rice at the newly-renovated Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium. 

After Rice (0-1-0) opened the scoring in the eighth minute, the Mustangs (1-0-0) tied the game on a goal by Julissa Cisneros off an assist by Sammy Nieves in the 20th minute.

Courtney Sebazco scored the game-winner in the 66th minute with a shot from outside the box. 

Samantha Estrada made four saves in goal to earn the win for the Mustangs.

Maryland 1, Temple 1 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA – Temple women's soccer (0-0-1) opened their 2022 season with a draw against Big Ten opponent, Maryland (0-0-1), on Thursday night at the Temple Sports Complex. A 63rd minute go-ahead goal from returner, Emily Kavanaugh would prove to be just enough for the Cherry and White to hang on, finishing the 90 minutes in a 1-1 tie. 
 
As both teams took to the pitch for the first time this year, both the Owls and the Terps fought tirelessly in the first half, patiently looking for a breakthrough. As the first half came to a close, Goalkepeer Kamryn Stablein came up big for the Cherry and White, leaping for a save in the 44th minute that would send the ball just over the crossbar to keep the game neutral.

The Owls would break that deadlock in the 63rd minute after securing a corner kick that would spark a scramble inside the box. Kavanaugh came through for the Cherry and White, finding the back of the net off a header for the 1-0 lead.  The Terps wasted no time, answering back just three minutes later. A deflected ball inside the box found the foot of Alina Stahl for the equalizer. 

Houston 1, Oklahoma 1 - Box Score
NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Houston Soccer program and first-year Head Coach Jaime Frias opened its 2022 season with a 1-1 draw Thursday night against Oklahoma at John Crain Field in Norman, Okla.

Houston (0-0-1) got the ball rolling early, scoring its first goal of the season in the 12th minute of action as midfielder Samantha Wiehe converted a penalty kick into the bottom center of the net giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead over Oklahoma (0-0-1).
 
Forward Janna Singleton continued to apply pressure in the 35th minute sending a shot to the top center of the net but it was saved by the Sooners goalkeeper Makinzie Short. As time expired in the first half, Houston's defense had held Oklahoma scoreless in the first half despite four first half shots and the Cougars headed into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

In the second half, defender Emma Clarke recorded a shot on goal in the 77th minute sending the ball to the bottom left corner but was again denied by the Oklahoma keeper. In the final four minutes of play, Oklahoma knocked in the equalizer as the Sooners Bailey Wesco found the net in the 86th minute. At the end of the regulation, neither team had been able to take the lead and the game was recorded as a tie. 
 
Goalkeeper Haley Woodward had her first career start with the Cougars posting six saves with five coming in the first half.

No. 2 Duke 1, East Carolina 0 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina soccer team lost 1-0 to the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils on Thursday in front of a record crowd of 1,335 at Johnson Stadium. Sophie Jones's goal in the sixth minute proved to be the difference as the Blue Devils were able to fend off a passionate Pirates squad.

Jones's goal, early in the first half, came off of a 28-yard arcing bomb from the Duke senior. The right-footed shot from the left half of the pitch lofted over everyone on the field, including goalkeeper Maeve English, and tucked away in the right corner of the net.

Despite 14 more shots, including six more on target, the Pirates defense held steady. English racked up six saves, including five in the second half. Several of English's second-half saves stopped deserving goals, with diving efforts keeping the ball out of the goal and the margin held to one.