American Athletic Conference Announces 2016 Men’s Soccer Bracket
11/7/2016 12:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The American Athletic Conference Championship Central
The American Bracket
The Tulsa men's soccer team earned the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 seed UConn in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinal on Friday, November 11. The game is set for 3:30 pm Central at Corbett Stadium on the USF campus in Tampa, Fla. The game can be viewed live on the American Digital Network.
TU posted a 9-4-4 overall record in the regular season, including a 4-2-1 mark in the league, and is on a six-game unbeaten streak. Freshman Matthew Puig has a team-best seven goals, while senior Ray Saari has five goals and sophomore Jacob Gooden has four scores. Quinton Duncan and Saari both have a team-high four assists.
Jake McGuire has a school-record 16 career clean sheets for the most in school history (dating back to 1996). He also ranks first in minutes played with just over 6,070, and in games played with 64, and is second with 234 saves, trailing Brent Salter (1999-2002) who has the most with 261.
UConn posted an 11-6-1 overall record, including a 3-3-1 mark in The American. The Huskies are led by Abdou Thiam with 10 goals, while Kwame Awuah has seven assists. Scott Levene has logged every minute in goal this season, picked up 53 saves and has eight clean sheets.
USF was 9-6-2 overall and 6-1 in the league entering the tournament. The Bulls are led by Nazeem Bartman with four goals, while Lindo Mfeka, Melvin Becket and Luis Garza all have three scores. Mfeka has a team-high five assists, while Ricardo Gomez has four. Spasoj Stefanovic has played the majority of minutes in goal, recorded 49 save and eight shutouts.
UCF had a 5-10 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the league prior to the tournament. The Knights are led by Matias Pyysalo with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Matt Rosenberg has played the majority of minutes in goal, had 36 saves and three clean sheets.
Tulsa claimed the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship without winning a game. The No. 4 seed Golden Hurricane tied UCF (2-2) in the quarterfinals, SMU (2-2) in the semifinals and UConn (1-1) in the championship match.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
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