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A seemingly random assortment of nine men's soccer teams, sometimes known as the American Athletic Conference, kick action off tonight in the inaugural AAC Tournament. The first rounds take place this weekend at the home stadiums of higher seeds, with the semifinals and finals being held at Toyota Stadium in Dallas next weekend. UConn earned the #2 seed in the tournament.
The Huskies enter the postseason with some solid momentum, going 6-0-1 in their last seven games to finish the season 9-2-5 and ranked #20 in the latest poll.
The return of senior Mamadou Diouf has been critical to UConn's resurgence, after a mid-season spell where it appeared the Huskies were allergic to the back of the net. Along with one-foot-out-the-door Louisville, UConn will be a favorite to win the 2013 title. In the one meeting this year between the teams at Louisville, the match ended in a 2-2 tie.
UConn begins postseason action at home Saturday against SMU. This will be a rematch of each team's last regular season game from 11/2, which the Huskies won on the road 1-0. Saturday's game is at 5 pm at Morrone Stadium.
- John Restivo