2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament

The 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was the 6th edition of the American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament decided the American Athletic Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The tournament began on November 6 and concluded on November 10.[1]

2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
Tournament Logo
ClassificationDivision I
Teams6
Matches5
SiteUCF Soccer and Track Stadium
Orlando, Florida
ChampionsSMU (2nd title)
Winning coachKevin Hudson (2nd title)
MVPOffensive: Emil Cuello (SMU)
Defensive: Grant Makela (SMU)
BroadcastAmerican Digital Network, ESPN3
American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament
«2017  2019»
2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#18 UCF + 5 –1 –1  13 –3 –3
SMU ‡+ 5 –1 –1  10 –5 –3
South Florida 4 –1 –2  7 –8 –2
Connecticut + 3 –2 –2  12 –6 –2
Memphis 2 –4 –1  8 –7 –4
Temple 2 –4 –1  5 –10 –4
Tulsa 2 –5 –0  6 –9 –2
Cincinnati 1 –6 –0  3 –14 –1
As of December 11, 2018; Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

In a rematch of the 2017 AAC championship, defending champions, SMU, successfully defended their title. The final match was a 1-1 draw in regulation before SMU bested UCF in penalty kicks to claim their second-ever AAC championship. SMU midfielder, Emil Cuello was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while SMU's Grant Makela was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

As champions, SMU earned the conference's automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Tournament. In addition to SMU, regular season champions and tournament runners-up, UCF earned an at-large bid, as well as Connecticut. In the NCAA Tournament, SMU was eliminated in the first round by Oregon State. Connecticut beat Rhode Island in the first round before losing to Indiana in the second round. UCF was seeded 14th in NCAA Tournament, and earned a second round bye. There, UCF lost to Lipscomb in overtime.

Seeds
Seed[2] School Conference Tiebreaker
1 UCF 5–1–1 UCF 1–0 vs. SMU[3]
2 SMU 5–1–1 SMU 0–1 vs. UCF[3]
3 South Florida 4–1–2
4 Connecticut 3–2–2
5 Temple 2–4–1 Goal differential
6 Memphis 2–4–1 Goal differential

Bracket
  First round
Nov. 6		     Semifinals
Nov. 8		     Final
Nov. 10
                           
      1 UCF (2OT) 3  
  4 Connecticut 3     4 Connecticut 2    
  5 Temple 1         1 UCF 1 (4)
      2 SMU (pen.) 1 (5)
      2 SMU (OT) 2    
  3 South Florida 1     6 Memphis 1  
  6 Memphis 3  

Results

First round
No. 3 South Florida1–3No. 6 Memphis
  • Zis  33'
 Report
  • Zalzman  38'
  • Mikus  81'
  • Sangha  87'
Attendance: 41
Referee: Daniel Thornberry
No. 4 Connecticut3–1No. 5 Temple
  • Sarver  40' (o.g.)
  • Harris  69'
  • Venner  74'
 Report
  • Mohamed  25'
Attendance: 53
Referee: Cassio Rubio

Semifinals
No. 2 SMU2–1 (a.e.t.)No. 6 Memphis
  • Shackleford  44'
  • Ponder  103'
Report
  • Ierides  18'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mark Allatin
No. 1 UCF3–2 (a.e.t.)No. 4 Connecticut
  • Sorokin  49'
  • Jennings  82'
  • Stiegwardt  110'
Report
  • Burnett  30'
  • Thiam  43'
Attendance: 581
Referee: Khalaf Al-Latayfeh

Final
No. 1 UCF1–1 (a.e.t.)No. 2 SMU
  • Hernández  90'
 Report
  • Boorom  73'
Penalties
  • Gorka
  • Jennings
  • McCloskey
  • Dawkins
  • Ibanez
4–5
Attendance: 1,108
Referee: Jorge Luna Hernandez

Statistics

Top goalscorers
1 Goal
  • Christian Boorom – SMU
  • Josh Burnett – Connecticut
  • Dayonn Harris – Connecticut
  • Alexandros Ierides – Memphis
  • Cal Jennings – UCF
  • Andrés Hernández – UCF
  • Chris Mikus – Memphis
  • Belal Mohamed — Temple
  • Philip Ponder – SMU
  • Gurman Sangha – Memphis
  • Max Stiegwardt – UCF
  • Akean Shackleford – SMU
  • Yoni Sorokin – UCF
  • Abdou Mbacke Thiam – Connecticut
  • Cole Venner – Connecticut
  • David Zalzman – Memphis
  • Alex Zis – South Florida
Own goals
  • Nick Sarver — Temple (playing against Connecticut)

Awards and honors
  • Tournament Offensive MVP: Emil Cuello, SMU
  • Tournament Defensive MVP: Grant Makela, SMU


All-Tournament Team:[4]

References
  1. "2018 Men's Soccer Championship Central". theamerican.org. September 11, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. "Bracket Set for the 2018 Men's Soccer Championship". theamerican.org. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  3. "Mustangs Drop 2-0 Decision to Knights". smumustangs.com. September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  4. "UNH Wins First-Ever #AEMSOC Title". theamerican.org. American Athletic Conference. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
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