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
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
, 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. Connecticut beat
rivals,
Rhode Island, in the first round, before losing to
Indiana in the second round. UCF was one of the 16 seeded teams (seeded 14th), allowing them to earn a bye into the second round. There, they lost in overtime to
Lipscomb.
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
Yannik Oettl (born 19 November 1996) is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship.
Career
Oettl made his professional debut for SpVgg Unterhaching on matchday 37, on 16 May 2015, in a 1–0 win agains ...
, and
Scott Calabrese won the AAC Midfielder, Goalkeeper, and Coach of the Year awards, respectively. Perez and Jennings were also named All-Americans by United Soccer Coaches.
Emil Cuello was the first AAC player to be drafted in the
2019 MLS SuperDraft
The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fir ...
, when he was selected by the
LA Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...
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.
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
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect.
Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few se ...
use a Top 25 ranking throughout the season.
Preseason All-Conference teams
;Preseason All-AAC Team
Regular season
Players of the Week
Rankings
United Soccer
Top Drawer Soccer
Postseason
AAC Tournament
The 2018 Tournament will be held at the home ground of the regular season winner.
NCAA Tournament
Postseason awards and honors
Conference honors
denotes unanimous selection
Regional honors
National honors
American vs other conferences
Regular Season
Post Season
MLS SuperDraft
Total picks by school
List of selections
Homegrown contracts
References
External links
American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Athletic Conference Mens Soccer Season 2017
2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season