Memphis women’s soccer fell to East Carolina in the AAC tournament title game 1-0 on Sunday afternoon, almost certainly ending the Tigers’ season in heartbreaking fashion.
Annabelle Abbott broke a scoreless tie with a golden goal in the 107th minute, lofting a shot past Memphis goalkeeper Kaylie Bierman and ending the game just minutes before it would have gone to penalties. Replays showed the ball appearing to hit the hand of an East Carolina player just before the goal, but it was not called by the referees.
“Had some decent chances, but at the end of the day every play matters,” Memphis coach Brooks Monaghan said. “And they took advantage of the chance that they got.”
The Pirates (10-3-7) gain the auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament, but Memphis’ path is far more perilous. Though the Tigers (13-2-4) have been ranked in the Top 25 all season, they’re likely going to miss their first NCAA Tournament since 2017.
The Tigers went undefeated in conference play and lost only one regular-season game this season — at Tennessee on Sept. 12. They earned non-conference wins over four power conference teams, but the Tigers still entered Sunday’s final ranked No. 53 in RPI.
Though Memphis is also ranked No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the RPI mark (only 64 teams make the tournament, 30 of which are auto-bids for conference champions) meant the Tigers entered Sunday’s game needing to win to guarantee themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is at 3 p.m. CT Monday.
It was a cagey start on Sunday in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Memphis grew into the game and created chances near the end of the first half, including a free kick from Ashley Henderson that went just over the crossbar. The Pirates fell back in the second half, and Memphis had the vast majority of the possession.
But the Tigers couldn’t find a breakthrough, and the teams went to extra time. East Carolina attacked more in the second half of extra time and ultimately won the game in the final minutes.
Memphis went into 2024 having lost a slew of program stalwarts, including Mya Jones, its first-ever NWSL draft pick. But expectations were still high, and Monaghan’s team won the AAC regular-season title.
“It hurts now, but I’m extremely proud of the group,” Monaghan said. “Entering the year, it was the players that we’d lost last year, kind of a rebuilding year. And this group showed that it didn’t have to be.”
There were still plenty of standouts. Finley Lavin won AAC defender of the year, while midfielder Ai Kitagawa won AAC freshman of the year. Kitagawa led the Tigers with four assists in the regular season and tied for the team lead with six goals.
“Right now it hurts,” Monaghan said. “But no matter what, proud of this group.”
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
