2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament

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
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 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

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]

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
Attendance: 41
No. 4 Connecticut3–1No. 5 Temple
 Report
Attendance: 53
Referee: Cassio Rubio

Semifinals

No. 2 SMU2–1 (a.e.t.)No. 6 Memphis
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mark Allatin
No. 1 UCF3–2 (a.e.t.)No. 4 Connecticut
 Report
Attendance: 581

Final

No. 1 UCF1–1 (a.e.t.)No. 2 SMU
 Report
Penalties
 4–5
Attendance: 1,108
Referee: Jorge Luna Hernandez

Statistics

Top goalscorers

1 Goal
Own goals
  • United States 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. ^ a b "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.