2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season
Sports season
2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season League NCAA Division I Sport Soccer Duration August 24, 2018 – November 11, 2018 Number of teams 8 Top draft pick Emil Cuello , 19th overallPicked by LA Galaxy Season champions UCF Runners-up SMU Champions SMU Runners-up UCF Finals MVP Offensive: Emil Cuello Defensive: Grant Makela
The 2018 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season was the 6th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began on August 24 and concluded on November 11, 2018.
The regular season was won by UCF , who finished conference play with a 5–1–1 record, and won on tiebreakers against SMU . SMU won the American Tournament, defeating UCF 5–4 in penalty kicks following a 1–1 draw in regulation and overtime. SMU earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while UCF and Connecticut received at-large berths into the tournament. In the NCAA Tournament , SMU lost in the first round to Oregon State .[ 1] [ 2] Connecticut beat rivals , Rhode Island ,[ 3] in the first round, before losing to Indiana in the second round.[ 4] UCF was one of the 16 seeded teams (seeded 14th),[ 5] allowing them to earn a bye into the second round. There, they lost in overtime to Lipscomb .[ 6]
Following the season, Cal Jennings won the Offensive MVP award for the conference. Jacob Hauser-Ramsey of Connecticut won the Defensive MVP . Fellow UCF players, Louis Perez, Yannik Oettl , and Scott Calabrese won the AAC Midfielder, Goalkeeper, and Coach of the Year awards, respectively.[ 7] Perez and Jennings were also named All-Americans by United Soccer Coaches.[ 8]
Emil Cuello was the first AAC player to be drafted in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft , when he was selected by the LA Galaxy with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the draft.
Background
Head coaches
Preseason
Preseason poll
The preseason poll will be released on August 14, 2018. UCF was picked to win the regular season.[ 10]
Team Ranking
First Place Votes
Raw Points
1.
UCF
4
46
2.
SMU
3
43
3.
Connecticut
1
38
4.
South Florida
0
34
5.
Tulsa
0
26
6.
Temple
0
19
7.
Cincinnati
0
11
8.
Memphis
0
9
Preseason national rankings
Two of the programs were ranked in one of the five major preseason polls. CollegeSoccerNews.com and Hero Sports use a Top 30 ranking throughout the season, while United Soccer , Soccer America , and Top Drawer Soccer use a Top 25 ranking throughout the season.
United Soccer [ 11]
CSN[ 12]
Hero Sports [ 13]
Soccer America [ 14]
TopDrawer Soccer[ 15]
Cincinnati
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Connecticut
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Memphis
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
SMU
8
10
6
7
6
South Florida
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Temple
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Tulsa
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
UCF
NR
NR
26
NR
NR
Preseason All-Conference teams
Preseason All-AAC Team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Regular season
Players of the Week
Week
Offensive
Defensive
Goalkeeper
Rookie
Player
Position
Team
Player
Position
Team
Player
Team
Player
Position
Team
Aug. 26[ 16]
Louis Perez
MF
UCF
Mitchell Cashion
DF
Tulsa
Cooper Clark
Tulsa
Felix Metzler
DF
Connecticut
Sep. 2[ 17]
Cal Jennings
FW
UCF
Pierre Cayet
DF
Temple
Harrison Devenish-Meares
South Florida
Gilles Kuhler
FW
Tulsa
Sep. 9[ 18]
Tomasz Skublak
FW
UCF
Koray Easterling
DF
Tulsa
Yannik Oettl
UCF
Jalen Campbell
FW
Temple
Sep. 16[ 19]
Cal Jennings
FW
UCF
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey
DF
Connecticut
Tyler Hofmann
Memphis
none announced
Sep. 23[ 20]
Lukas Fernandes
MF
Temple
Talen Maples
DF
SMU
Simon Lefebvre
Temple
Lane Warrington
MF
SMU
Sep. 30[ 21]
Rex Epps
FW
Cincinnati
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey
DF
Connecticut
Yannik Oettl
UCF
Ibrahima Diop
FW
Connecticut
Oct. 7[ 22]
Cal Jennings
FW
UCF
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey
DF
Connecticut
Harrison Devenish-Meares
South Florida
Edgar Alaniz
MF
Memphis
Oct. 14[ 23]
Tomasz Skublak
FW
South Florida
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey
DF
Connecticut
Grant Makela
SMU
Gilles Kuhler
FW
Tulsa
Oct. 21[ 24]
Abdou Mbacke Thiam
FW
Connecticut
Ben Roberts
DF
Memphis
Yannik Oettl
UCF
Gurman Sangha
MF
Memphis
Oct. 28[ 25]
Lukas Fernandes
MF
Temple
Philip Ponder
DF
SMU
Simon Lefebvre
Temple
Thomas Haney
DF
SMU
Nov. 4[ 26]
Louis Perez
MF
UCF
Philip Ponder
DF
SMU
Noah Lawrence
Cincinnati
Emilio Ycaza
MF
South Florida
Rankings
Improvement in ranking
Drop in ranking
RV
Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV
No votes received
Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Final
Cincinnati
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Connecticut
RV
18
NV
NV
RV
NV
RV
20
20
15
20
RV
RV
RV
Memphis
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
SMU
8
RV
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
RV
RV
RV
South Florida
RV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Temple
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Tulsa
NV
23
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
UCF
RV
RV
NV
RV
RV
RV
RV
19
19
13
9
7
9
18
Top Drawer Soccer
Improvement in ranking
Drop in ranking
RV
Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NV
No votes received
Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Final
Cincinnati
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Connecticut
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
24
12
13
8
20
NV
NV
25
25
25
25
Memphis
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
SMU
6
6
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
24
NV
NV
NV
NV
South Florida
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Temple
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Tulsa
NV
NV
15
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
UCF
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
24
9
6
6
13
RV
RV
RV
RV
Postseason
AAC Tournament
The 2018 Tournament will be held at the home ground of the regular season winner.[ 27]
NCAA Tournament
Postseason awards and honors
Conference honors
2018 AAC Men's Soccer Individual Awards [ 28]
Award
Recipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year
Cal Jennings, UCF
Midfielder of the Year
Louis Perez, UCF
Defensive Player of the Year
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, Connecticut
Goalkeeper of the Year
Yannik Oettl , UCF
Rookie of the Year
Felix Metzler, Connecticut
Coach of the Year
Scott Calabrese , UCF
Team Fair Play Award
Connecticut
2018 AAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams [ 28]
First Team
Second Team
Rookie Team
Goalkeeper
Yannik Oettl , So., UCF
Defenders
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey , Sr., UConn†
Talen Maples , So., SMU
Ben Roberts, Jr., Memphis
Midfielders
Louis Perez , So., UCF†
Yoni Sorokin, So., UCF
Emil Cuello , Sr., SMU
David Zalzman, Sr., M, Memphis
Forwards
Cal Jennings , Jr., UCF†
Abdou Mbacke Thiam, Sr., UConn†
Tomasz Skublak, Sr., USF
Goalkeeper
Grant Makela, Jr., SMU
Defenders
Avionne Flanagan, So., USF
Dylan Greenberg, R-Sr., UConn
Robin Lapert, So., UConn
Yanis Leerman, Fr., UCF
Midfielders
Chase Bromstedt , So., Tulsa
Lukas Fernandes, Jr., Temple
Dayonn Harris, R-Jr., UConn
Felix Metzler, Fr., UConn
Alex Zis, Jr., USF
Forwards
Garrett McLaughlin, Jr., SMU
Akean Shackleford, Jr., SMU
Defenders
Andres Hernandez Betancur, UCF
Henrique Gallina, USF
Yanis Leerman, UCF†
Midfielders
Knut Ahlander, SMU
Jalen Campbell, Temple
Andres Charles-Barrera, Temple
Felix Metzler, UConn†
Lane Warrington, SMU
Forwards
Ibrahima Diop, UConn
Gilles Kuhler, Tulsa†
Gurman Sangha, Memphis
† denotes unanimous selection
Regional honors
National honors
American vs other conferences
Regular Season [ 31]
Post Season
Power Conferences
Record
Big Ten
0–1–0
Pac-12
0–1–0
Power Conferences Total
0–2–0
Other DI Conferences
Record
Atlantic 10
1–0–0
Atlantic Sun
0–1–0
Other DI Total
1–1–0
Total Postseason Record
1–3–0
MLS SuperDraft
Total picks by school
Team
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Total
Cincinnati
0
0
0
0
0
Connecticut
0
1
0
0
1
Memphis
0
0
0
1
1
SMU
1
0
0
0
1
South Florida
0
0
0
0
0
Temple
0
0
0
0
0
Tulsa
0
0
0
0
0
UCF
0
0
0
0
0
List of selections
Homegrown contracts
Original MLS team
Player
Position
College
Notes
Ref.
References
^ Severs, John (November 16, 2018). "Oregon State Men's Soccer: Beavers Beat SMU 2-1 to Advance to Second Round" . Building The Dam . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ brooks.hatch@lee.net, BROOKS HATCH. "OSU men's soccer: Beavers face Gaels in second round" . Corvallis Gazette Times . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ ChrisS. "NEW: URI Soccer Falls to UConn 4-3 in Overtime in NCAA Tournament" . GoLocalProv . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "IU men's soccer puts nation on alert with win over UConn: 'You don't want to be in our way right now.' " . Indianapolis Star . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "NCAA soccer: DI men's 2018 tournament bracket released; Wake Forest is No. 1 seed" . NCAA.com . November 12, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF Knights vs. Lipscomb Bisons - Football Match Stats - November 18, 2018 - ESPN" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF, UConn Garner Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF's Cal Jennings, Louis Perez Tabbed United Soccer Coaches All-Americans" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ a b c "NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Brackets" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association . ncaa.org. Retrieved July 17, 2017 .
^ "UCF Tops Men's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll" . theamerican.org . August 14, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018 .
^ "2018 NCAA DI MEN - PRESEASON" . United Soccer Coaches. August 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018 .
^ "College Soccer News 2018 Preseason National Poll" . CollegeSoccerNews.com. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018 .
^ "D1 Mens Soccer Rankings" . HERO Sports News. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018 .
^ "Soccer America Preseason Men's College Top 25" . Soccer America. August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018 .
^ "Men's DI Top 25" . Advanced Sports Media, LLC. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018 .
^ "American Announces First 2018 Men's Soccer Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "Men's Soccer Weekly Awards Announced for Week 2" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "USF, Tulsa, UCF and Temple Earn Men's Soccer Weekly Accolades" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF, UConn and Memphis Players Earn Men's Soccer Weekly Accolades" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "Temple and SMU Earn Men's Soccer Weekly Accolades" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "Cincinnati, UCF and UConn Collect Weekly Men's Soccer Accolades" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF, UConn, USF and Memphis Collect Men's Soccer Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "USF, UConn, SMU and Tulsa Collect Weekly Men's Soccer Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UConn, UCF, and Memphis Earn Weekly Men's Soccer Honors" . theamerican.org . October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018 .
^ "SMU and Temple Earn Two Men's Soccer Weekly Honors Apiece" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "UCF, SMU, Cincinnati and USF Net Final Men's Soccer Weekly Honors" . theamerican.org . Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "American Athletic Conference Championships - 2018-19 Schedule" . theamerican.org . August 2, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018 .
^ a b "American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Report December 14, 2018 - Final" (PDF) . theamerican.org . December 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ "College Soccer News 2018 All-America Teams" . collegesoccernews.com . January 13, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019.
^ a b "United Soccer Coaches Announces NCAA Division I Men's All-America Teams" . unitedsoccercoaches.org . December 6, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
^ Erbes, Megan (October 23, 2018). "American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Report October 23, 2018" (PDF) . theamerican.org . Retrieved October 25, 2018 .
^ Morton, Aaron (January 11, 2019). "Former Orem High soccer player Emil Cuello drafted by LA Galaxy" . Deseret News . Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
External links
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Regular Season Tournaments National Tournaments Rankings & awards
International
Club competitions National teams