For the second year in a row, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak was named the American’s Coach of the Year. Senior Tatiana Coleman shared Offensive Player of the Year honors with UConn’s Rachel Hill; junior Connie Organ was named Goalkeeper of the Year; and senior Carleigh Williams was lauded as the Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition, the Knights earned a league best eight all-conference team nods. Coleman, Organ and Williams were first-team selections; Ashley Spivey, Jennifer Martin, and Sophie Howard were second-team honorees; and Saga Fredriksson and Hannah DeBose were named to the all-rookie team.

In her second season at the helm of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s program, Roberts Sahaydak guided the Knights to another regular season conference championship. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, currently ranked No. 19 in the nation, stands among the top 10 in the country for W-L-T percentage (.842) this year. During the non-conference season, she guided Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to wins over programs from the Pac-12, ACC, Big 12 and SEC.

Coleman currently sits atop the conference standings for points (33) along with Hill. Earlier this season, she posted a nine-match point scoring streak, tying the school record set in 1995. Her five-game winners this season rank among Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s all-time single-season leaders.

Organ owns 12 shutouts this season, good enough for second on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s all-time single-season list. The three-time AAC Goalkeeper of the Week currently ranks sixth in the country for her goals-against average (.423).

Williams earned Defensive Player of the Year roughly one year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury prior to the 2013 AAC Championship. As centerback, she has led her team to 13 shutouts in its 16 wins. Moreover, the Knights have outscored their opponents 27-1 at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Soccer Complex this year.

Spivey (second team) made an immediate impact for the Knights after transferring from Maryland in July. She is the team’s second-leading scorer with eight goals, including the game-winner in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s quarterfinal victory over SMU.

Martin was named to the second team for the second year in a row. She stands as Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s third-leading scorer with five goals (three game-winners) and eight assists for 18 points.

Howard was praised for her efforts in the back alongside Williams at centerback. She leads the team in minutes this year and has helped guide the Knights to one of the nation’s best shutout percentages. The German has started in all but one of every match of her three-year career.

As for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s freshmen, Fredriksson has started in 11 of 14 matches as right back for one of the nation’s stingiest defensive units. DeBose, a forward, has started in nine of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s 19 matches this year and has tallied five assists.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ meets UConn at 5 p.m. Friday in Tampa at USF’s Corbett Stadium. The winner of Friday’s semifinal will meet either East Carolina or USF in Sunday’s championship at 11 a.m. on ESPNU The victor of the American Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will air at 4:30 p.m. on ncaa.com on Nov. 10.

The Knights have earned 18 berths to the Big Dance, including an active streak of seven-consecutive appearances.

The Knights’ 2-0 win over Cincinnati in the regular season finale cemented a perfect 9-0 record at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Soccer Complex this season. Moreover, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ (15-3-0, 8-1-0 AAC) has successfully defended its home turf in 16-straight conference matches since Oct. 7, 2012.

“In preseason we talk about all of our goals for the season. One is to always be undefeated at home. We didn’t quite get that last year, so the fact that we were able to accomplish that this year with this team is a big step mentality wise,” Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ senior forward Tatiana Coleman stole the show, accounting for both goals in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s 12th shutout. She wrapped up senior weekend with three goals and an assist.

“She can get the job done by scoring goals and creating chances for the team,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “I love that she’s an emotional leader for our team and just a leader by example.”

The Knights got after it early when defender Caroline Bado booted an attempt from outside the box that was saved by Cincy keeper Kristina Utley. Coleman nearly scored in the 6th minute when her screamer hit the crossbar.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ broke through in the 30th minute on a set piece after Coleman drew a foul just past the Bearcats bench. Carlin Huegli’s free kick into the box first connected with Fish’s header and then found Coleman in front of the net, where she finished it off for her fifth game-winner of the year.

She waited until the 75th minute to find the back of the net again off a give-and-go exchange with junior midfielder Amanda Wilkin. She kicked it low to the far, left post past the keeper for the 2-0 win.

In Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s nine home matches, the Black and Gold (and sometimes Pink) outscored their opponents, 23-1, in nearly 820 minutes of playing time.

“You have a few shutouts and then it keeps rolling. That’s part of us. We talk about shutout mentality,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “Connie (Organ) holding it down for us in the back, and then a really strong back four… just really solid performances by them all year long.”

As the top seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will host the first round and quarterfinal matches next weekend. The winner of the neutral-site contest between the No. 8 and 9 seeds at 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 will move on to face the Knights at 1 p.m. on Nov. 2.

The victory marked the Knights’ 22nd-straight match (including conference tournaments) dating back to Oct. 14, 2012. As a result, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ worked its way into the as the 18th program in Division I history to achieve such a milestone.

“As the game went on we did gain more confidence. Great performances off the bench. It’s great having a deep team where we can rely on everybody,” Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. “Great performance, overall. We’re happy with the result, and we did grow as the game went on.”

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ (9-2-0, 2-0 AAC) struck quickly when senior forward Tatiana Coleman dribbled down the right sideline and crossed a perfectly placed ball to a rushing Ashley Spivey, who buried it past Tulsa keeper Courtney McKeon.

Freshman forward Christina Holmes responded for Tulsa (7-4-1, 1-1-0 AAC) in the 31st minute. Despite pressure, Holmes was able to maintain control and slipped it by goalkeeper Connie Organ, who had come out to meet her.

The Knights didn’t stay behind for long. Less than two minutes later, Spivey got into the mix again when her shot was deflected, allowing senior midfielder Jennifer Martin to pick up the rebound by the left post and reclaim a 2-1 lead for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

Senior Kayla Darden added to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s edge just before halftime when she broke down the Hurricane defense and connected with the back of the net from 18 yards out for her first goal of the season.

Darden wasn’t finished, yet. She netted her second of the match in the 59th minute after junior midfielder Amanda Wilkin forwarded a ball to Coleman on the right side. Coleman sent it through to Darden in the box, and she bounced it off of the top of the crossbar into the back of the net.

“Darden has had a good season. She’s been in and out of the starting lineup. She came off the bench and provided a lot of energy, some toughness,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “Her first goal came off of her really battling with the outside back and defending well and created a chance for herself. We love to rely on her athleticism.”

That all changed for the junior against Oregon State when she netted two goals in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s 4-0 win over the Beavers, helping lift her team to its second shutout of the weekend.

“So far junior year is really good for me,” Wilkin said. “I had to work my way into the starting lineup. I had some meetings with Tiff (head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak) early on this year and she told me some things I needed to work on. I’ve been trying to get better individually, and so far so good.”

It was all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ (5-2-0) from the get-go as the Knights outshot the Beavers, 20-1, in the first half. They finished the game with a 33-1 advantage in the stat column, including 10 shots on goal.

Senior Tatiana Coleman netted her fifth goal of the season and second game-winner after chipping in a high shot to the left corner in the 12th minute.

Less than seven minutes later, Wilkin tapped in her first-career goal when senior Carleigh Williams threaded a cross to her teammate near the left post.

“I felt like we came out a little flat, and even though it was 2-0 at half, I still felt there was still more in us. We had a good talk at halftime. We really focused on ourselves and putting in the work today so it could help us for the future,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “We came out with a great attitude and I think it showed. Getting another couple goals and having a lot of performances by a lot of people today. Great effort overall, all weekend.”

Wilkin wasted no time in finding the back of the net again after halftime. In the 49th minute, Jennifer Martin sent a corner kick into the box. An Oregon State player tried to clear the ball with her head, but it found Wilkin in front of the net and she put it away for a 3-0 lead.

Junior midfielder Ashley Spivey got in on the fun in the 67th minute with her first goal of the season after Coleman advanced the ball to her from the low right corner to the top of the box.

Twenty Knights clocked minutes in the match, including goalkeeper Diana Manis, who made her first career-appearance when she subbed in for Connie Organ with 18 minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s defense kept Oregon State (0-6-2) from scoring in their fifth-straight match.

The Knights continue their homestand Friday at 7 p.m. when Long Beach State comes to town. Currently, the 49ers are ranked No. 23 nationally. The NSCAA poll will update Tuesday, and if LBSU’s standing among the Top 25 holds, it will be the first time since 2012 that the Knights have hosted a ranked opponent.

On paper, it is what the No. 15/17 Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ women’s soccer team (15-2-2, 8-0-1) was playing for Sunday in its 1-0 victory at SMU, but it isn’t what head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak asked her team to focus on before they headed onto Westcott Field.

“I think sometimes we can all get caught up in breaking records and the results and winning championships. Obviously we need to be motivated by that because we are all competitors, but I feel our edge is that we are inspired and motivated by one another because we have such a strong bond and family. I wanted them to focus on fighting for one another, encouraging one another, staying positive for one another.

“Based on the teams that I’ve been on that have won championships, it has always come down to little things and how tight the group is and how willing they are to play for one another. If you do that, that result that you want so badly should be there. Since we got the result that we wanted, I do think that the little things mattered today.”

Neither team gained the upper hand in the scoreless first half as both came away with just two shots on goal.

Although they had several scoring opportunities after the break, the only one the Knights needed happened in the 47th minute.

Junior forward Tatiana Coleman’s cross into the box found freshman Kayla Adamek, and she tapped it in to the back left corner of the net for her third game-winner of the season.

“I saw Tati sprinting down the line, so I knew she was going to put it in. I just tried to get in the right spot, and she practically gave me the goal,” Adamek said. “Winning the regular season is one of the best feelings in the world. I hope we take it to the next level.”

With 13 minutes to go, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ goalkeeper Lianne Maldonado came up with a big deflection of Courtney Smith’s attempt from the left side, sending the ball over the crossbar to keep the Mustangs out of the net and secure the Knights’ ninth shutout of the year and 15th-straight unbeaten match.

Thanks to a first-round bye from their No. 1 seed, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will host its American Championship quarterfinal matchup at 1 p.m. on Nov. 3 against the winner of the No.8/No. 9 match being held at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Soccer Complex on Nov. 1. Tickets are available for purchase now through Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½Knights.com.

Each goal was scored by a different Knight to help lift the team to its best start to conference play (3-0) since 2007.

“I think that is one of our strengths – we have a lot of weapons and it is not one way that we’re scoring,” head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. “I love that we have a variety of ways of attack and it just has to do with all the different types of personalities that we have and their strengths.”

The Knights (10-2-1) clinched their 10th win of the year, continuing their streak of double-digit win seasons since 2001. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ outscored its opponents 14-3 during its four-match homestand, picking up four straight wins and extending its league-best unbeaten streak to nine-consecutive games.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ shredded Temple’s defense to become just the second team this season to score multiple goals on the Owls, who headed into the weekend ranked among the top-15 teams nationally for goals-against average and shutout percentage.

Freshman Kayla Adamek put Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ on the board first when she headed in senior Ashley Nicol’s cross to the far post in the 12th minute.

Sophomore Sophie Howard sent a ball in front of the net from midfield and freshman Karoline Heinze took one touch on it to make sure it found its way into the net for her first career goal and a 2-0 lead in the 29th minute.

Senior Katy Ling got in on the action in the 36th minute after receiving a long ball sent into the box by sophomore Amanda Wilkin. Ling juked her defender to score her third goal of the season and a 3-0 lead.

Temple’s Jillian Diblasi gave the Owls their lone goal of the match after dribbling down field and connected to the far corner of the net just before halftime.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ had the final say as senior Marleigh Howard crossed a ball from the left side into the box for junior Tatiana Coleman’s eighth goal of the season, resting the score at 4-1.