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The UConn women’s soccer team came into Sunday’s game with the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina needing a win to clinch the American Athletic Conference regular season championship and the privileges that go along with it. If the Huskies could not find a way to win, then they would have to hope Memphis would not emerge victorious in their match.
After falling behind 1-0 in the 10th minute, it took Stephanie Ribeiro and the Huskies until the 87th minute to complete the comeback when Ribeiro scored her 19th goal of the year to take the lead. They beat the Pirates 2-1 and clinched The American title along with the victory. It’s the second straight year that UConn has won the regular season title.
The Huskies went undefeated in conference play (8-0-1) and they have not lost since September 8 at Florida State heading into the tournament. They will play the winner of Wednesday’s first round matchup between No. 4 USF and No. 5 Cincinnati in their semifinal match.
USF (4-3-2) got a win over Tulsa on the road in their final regular season match by a score of 3-2. The Bulls are also 2-2-1 in their last five matches, dating back to their match with UConn. UConn was victorious in that one at Morrone Stadium, winning 3-1.
Cincinnati (4-3-2) is the five seed due to goal differential, as the Bearcats tied with USF 2-2 in Tampa. They come into the tournament slightly hotter than the Bulls, as they are 3-1-1 in their final five regular season games. This also includes a two-goal loss to the Huskies, this one by a 2-0 scoreline and in Cincinnati.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 seed SMU (6-2-1) will take on the No. 6 seed UCF (4-4-1) in the quarterfinals with the winner advancing to face the two-seed Memphis Tigers (8-1-0) on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Whomever emerges victorious between USF and Cincinnati will play the Huskies on Friday night at Morrone Stadium, with kickoff coming at 7:00 p.m. For those who cannot attend, the game will be on the American Digital Network.