LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – No. 3 UAB controlled the pace in the second half and came away with a thrilling 1-0 victory over top-seeded Memphis in overtime on Saturday night in the final of the 2026 American Women’s Soccer Championship at the Premier Sports Campus.
UAB (12-8-1) captured its first tournament title in women’s soccer as an American member, reaching the NCAA tournament for the third time. The Blazers previously advanced to the NCAA College Cup in 2004 and the opening round of the national tournament in 2006. Memphis (13-4-3) was denied a fifth American tournament championship after reaching its fifth final in six seasons.
A battle in the midfield yielded only one official shot during the first half, sending the teams to the locker room scoreless. UAB was the more dangerous team during the second half, outshooting Memphis 5-3 with four shots on goal. Despite the chances the Blazers were unable to break through and the match headed to overtime without a goal on the scoreboard.
Just 43 seconds into the extra period UAB struck for the championship winner. Mia Leath sent a looping free kick into the box that was punched back out by Memphis goalkeeper Ava Galani. Galani made the stop on a follow-up shot from Abby Graeser, and Sydney Bollinger gathered the rebound and dropped the ball back to Vita Naihin. Naihin buried her third goal in as many matches in the tournament to give UAB the walk-off victory at 90:43.
The championship all-tournament team featured Naihin, Leath and Graeser, along with Macie Murphy and Avery Berryman representing UAB. Memphis was represented by Ai Kitagawa, Yuna Nagata, Abby Forsgren and Ellis Kelly. Additional all-tournament honorees were Valentina Labuschagne from Rice and Annabelle Walker from Charlotte.
American Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Valentina Labuschagne, Rice
Annabelle Walker, Charlotte
Ai Kitagawa, Memphis
Yuna Nagata, Memphis
Abby Forsgren, Memphis
Ellis Kelly, Memphis
Macie Murphy, UAB
Abby Graeser, UAB (Most Outstanding Defensive Player)
Vita Naihin, UAB (Most Outstanding Offensive Player)
Mia Leath, UAB
Avery Berryman, UAB