Mustangs Take Home Year Honors
The American regular season champion SMU Mustangs took home five of the six major awards. Mads Westergren was named American Defensive Player of the Year, Bailey Sparks was named American Midfielder of the Year, Cole Johnson was named American Goalkeeper of the Year, Niv Berkovitz was named American Freshman of the Year and the SMU coaching staffed earned the American Coaching Staff of the Year.
Rodrigues dos Santos Named American Offensive Player of the Year
Memphis junior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos becomes the first Tiger to earn the American Offensive Player of the Year honor. He leads the league in goals (7) and points (17). On the season, he has had seven game-winning goals, leading the nation in the category.
A New Champion Will Be Crowned
The Florida Atlantic Owls used a header in the final seconds of their quarterfinal match against three-seed FIU to defeat the defending champions 1-0 in Miami. With the Panthers now out, the previous three American Athletic Conference Champions are not in the tournament. SMU will look to win their first title since 2019 when they book ended three straight (2017, 2018, 2019). Charlotte, Memphis and Florida Atlantic all look to win their first American Men’s Soccer Championship.
Memphis Comes From Behind To Advance To Semifinals
The fourth-seeded Memphis Tigers used two goals in the final five minutes of the match to overcome a 2-1 deficit against the fifth-seeded South Florida Bulls in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. Logan Longo took a corner from Hayden Anderson with a minute left in the match, heading it in for the game-winning goal and sending the Tigers to the semifinals.
American in the RPI
Five of the nine teams in The American are ranked in the Top 100 of the RPI as of October 15. SMU (4) leads the pack, followed by FIU (27), Memphis (28), Charlotte (30) and South Florida (82).
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – QUARTERFINALS
No. 6 Florida Atlantic 1, No. 3 FIU 0
No. 4 Memphis 3, No. 5 South Florida 2
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 – SEMIFINALS
No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs No. 2 Charlotte (ESPN+)_____ 4:30 p.m.
No. 4 Memphis at No. 1 SMU (ESPN+)___________ 8 p.m.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 – CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Semifinal Winners (ESPN+)____________________ 2 p.m.
All times ET and subject to change
