Conference Champions!

Sunday, November 4

Tampa, Fla.

11 a.m.

University of Memphis

17-3-0, 7-2-0

USF

14-3-0, 8-1-0

Memphis

USF

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Nov 04, 2018 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Tigers secure first American Athletic Conference tournament title

By: John Galatas

TAMPA, Fla. – For the first time as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the Memphis Tigers are tournament champions.

The Tigers (17-3, 7-2) took down the No. 1 seed and host USF (13-3, 8-1) by a final of 3-0 at Corbett Stadium on Sunday afternoon for their 13^th shutout of the season. With the win, Memphis secured the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will make its seventh NCAA postseason appearance in program history. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air Monday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Sophomore Clarissa Larisey scored the game's first two goals, and a score from freshman Caroline Duncan in the latter stages of the second half sealed the victory.

"It's a great feeling. When you're doing this so long, you're looking for the right ingredients. Those ingredients involve talent, and we've always had a lot of talent, but it also involves the group buying in 100 percent. That's not easy to get," head coach Brooks Monaghan said. "We knew we had a chance from the very beginning of the season with the group we had – from the seniors to the freshmen. There are a lot of special girls on this team. It's not just about their soccer ability, it's about who they are as people."

Larisey was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Chanel Hudson-Marks was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Marie Levasseur and Stasia Mallin were also tabbed to the All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers displayed their energy early with a score from Larisey just six minutes into the contest. Levasseur sent a pass up field to Tanya Boychuk, whose cross to an open Larisey on the right side yielded the opening goal.

USF sought an answer and found a trio of chances in the middle half of the first period, but the Tiger defense stood tall to keep the Bulls off the board. In goal, sophomore keeper Elizabeth Moberg registered her 13^th clean sheet of the season, a single-season school record for a sophomore, as she stopped all three shots she faced throughout the match.

The Tigers built a cushion in the 54^th minute as Larisey connected on her second goal of the match. After an Olivia Gauthier clearance, the sophomore dashed up the open field, dribbled around the keeper and fired the ball into the open net for a 2-0 lead.

Just 15 minutes later, Duncan tallied her third score of the season in similar fashion. The Memphis native scored on an open-net drive from Samantha Murphy.

Memphis, who won its sixth overall conference title, improved its mark to 12-0 on the season in games away from home, while also snapping USF's 14 match home winning streak.

"I thought it was a big performance from everybody today. You can throw a lot of names in there, and that is what it takes," Monaghan added. "You can't win championships if it's just one or two playing well. It was a total team effort. We told the group, 'be great today.' And that's one thing this team has done all year."