MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 10, 2019 – For the second time in three seasons, the Bulls are American Athletic Conference Tournament champions.
 
The No. 23 University of South Florida women's soccer team used two goals from Evelyne Viens (L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Canada) to defeat No. 8 Memphis, 2-0, in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
 
Viens recorded her 19^th career multi-goal game to power the Bulls to victory. As conference champion, USF now has an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The tournament victory is only the latest accolade for this USF team. In the last three years, the team has three titles in the American. In 2017, the Bulls won the American Athletic Conference Tournament against UCF in penalty kicks. In 2018, while the team didn't win the tournament, they still took home the regular season title and reached the conference tournament finals.

For the opening minutes, play was mostly contained to midfield. The Bulls tallied its first shot in the eighth minute, and its first shot on goal in the 20^th minute. On the other side of the ball, the Bulls defense held Memphis without a shot for the entire opening 45 minutes.
 
Ultimately, at the half, the game remained scoreless heading into the locker room.
 
Memphis pushed through the USF defense and registered its first shot on goal of the match early in the second half. Sydney Martinez (Rincon, Ga.) made the stop to keep the goal scoreless in the 62^nd minute.
 
Then, USF solved the puzzle. Aubrey Megrath (West Palm Beach, Fla.) fed the ball to Viens, who broke through the Memphis defense and scored her 19^th goal of the season in the 65^th minute. Not even two minutes later, Andrea Hauksdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland) got the ball to Viens to give USF a two-goal lead and clinch the title for the Bulls.
 
Martinez recorded her fourth shutout of the season and eighth shutout of her career in the win.
 
Viens, Hauksdottir, Martinez and Sydny Nasello (Land O' Lakes, Fla.) were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team. Martinez was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player for her shutout in the championship game, paired with a three-save performance against UCF. Viens was also named the most outstanding offensive player for scoring four goals during the tournament.
 
Quotable
Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown on second half adjustments:
"The setup was a little different than we anticipated in the first half. I don't think the girls weren't trying to follow instructions in the first half, but in the second half, Memphis didn't change anything, so it was easier for us to break them down the way we wanted to. The center-backs did an amazing job with Martinez to break down the nine. They followed instructions well and they're good at what they do. It was nice to get the goals."
 
 Key Stat
 4 – Viens scored all four of USF's goals to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament. 
 
Notable

• This is the Bulls' third American Athletic Conference title in three seasons. USF won the tournament championship in 2017, followed by a regular season title in 2018.
• Both teams USF defeated en route to the championship were teams the Bulls lost to during the regular season.

 
Up Next
The Bulls have clinched an automatic berth for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be broadcast on NCAA.com on Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
 
About USF Women's Soccer
Be sure to follow USF women's soccer on social media (Twitter / Instagram/Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. 
 
The USF women's soccer team has posted seven consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins and nine in the last 10 years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
-#GoBulls-