The No. 16/19 ranked University of Memphis women’s soccer team (17-3, 7-2 American Athletic Conference) won their first ever AAC title and sixth conference title. It’s their first conference tournament title since 2011 when they were in Conference USA. With the AAC tournament title, they earn an automatic birth in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2016. The last time they played, they lost against Arkansas 2-1 when they allowed two goals in the last five minutes of the game. They started with a first-round bye in the AAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and beat the University of Central Florida (10-7-1, 6-3-0 AAC) 1-0 in the semifinal, and they beat the host University of South Florida (14-3-0, 8-1-0 AAC) in a comfortable 3-0 win. Memphis lost to UCF and USF at home earlier in the season.
Head coach Brooks Monaghan praised the entire team, as it took many players to achieve one of their goals of the season.
“You can’t win championships if it’s just one or two playing well,” Monaghan said. “It was a total team effort.”
The weekend started last Friday when the team played the UCF Knights in the semifinal. Marie Levasseur, senior forward and First Team All-Conference player, headed in a ball to score her sixth goal of the year on a cross from Stasia Mallin, junior defender, with 10 minutes left in the match to secure the victory.
Memphis’ defensive line was superior in the game, holding the Knights’ offense to just five shots with one on target. They held UCF to 64 percent fewer shots than in their 2-0 victory against Memphis on Oct. 11.
The final was played earlier Sunday afternoon due to potential inclement weather, as they faced the USF Bulls in Tampa. Clarissa Larisey, sophomore forward and First Team All-Conference player, scored the first two goals of the match and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“It definitely felt amazing,” Larisey said. “It’s one of the greatest feelings to be completely honest.”
Larisey’s first goal came early in the sixth minute with an assist by Marie Levasseur’s throw-in and freshman forward and AAC All-Rookie Tanya Boychuck’s pass inside the box to Larisey as she put the shot past the keeper to the left post. Larisey’s second goal came as she beat the keeper outside the box to score on the empty net from just outside the 18-yard box. The assist came from a long, accurate pass by Olivia Gauthier, senior defender and AAC Defensive Player of the Year, from Memphis’ half. Larisey said the victory was sweeter due to revenge on their minds.
“It was definitely some type of revenge,” Larisey said. “Just the fact that we got to beat [USF] on their home field, it was just so nice.”
The dagger to seal the win was scored by Caroline Duncan, freshman defender and midfielder, as she scored her second goal of the year, in a mirror-like play to Larisey’s second goal, beating the USF keeper to score on an open net. The assist came from Samantha Murphy, sophomore midfielder, as she earned her second assist on the year with a slick pass to Duncan near the box.
The Bulls offense was held to seven shots, a different story from the last time the two teams met when they scored two goals from five shots Oct. 14. The defense helped Elizabeth Moberg, sophomore goalkeeper, earn her 13th clean sheet of the year, and Chanel Husdon-Marks, senior defender and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, has been a rock in the defense, even though she made the transition from forward to defender this year.
“Winning the defensive award felt really good as well, since it was my first year playing defense,” Hudson-Marks said. “I put a lot of hard work into it, so it means a lot that it’s being recognized.”
The season is not over yet for Memphis, as they now look to NCAA Tournament play. They will host the Wisconsin Badgers this Friday at 7 p.m. at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. It will be their first ever meeting, and the Badgers are coming off a loss in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against Illinois.
The Memphis women's soccer team celebrates after Clarissa Larisey's second goal in the AAC championship game. The team went on to beat USF 3-0 in the AAC championship match.
