After two grueling halves, two overtimes and penalty kicks, the UCF Knights (16-2-3) secured a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game after they defeated rival team, USF (10-4-6), at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex.
“This is what we came here to do. We’re at home; it’s the perfect story,” UCF head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. “It’s nerve-racking because you feel like you should [make it to the final], but it’s never an easy road. I have to say, USF was awesome. They disrupted us. I’m glad that we got out alive because they did a great job.”
The first two halves of the game were back and forth between the two teams, but the No. 12 Knights kept the ball on their opponent’s half of the field for the majority of the game. The Knights had seven shots on goal compared to the Bulls’ two shots on goal.
After 90 minutes of play on the field and nothing on the scoreboard, the women headed to two 10-minute overtime periods. The ladies played back and forth on the field, but still couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.
A foul was called on USF with only 15 seconds remaining in the second overtime quarter, just inches outside the goal box. The Knights had one last chance to seal the deal and end the game. Forward, Jennifer Martin, shot the ball to the upper corner of the goal, but it bounced off the top post and soared out of bounds. The Knights and the Bulls headed to penalty kicks in a shootout.
Fans stood on their feet as the women lined up for the shootout. Martin, Ashley Nicol, Tatiana Coleman and Kristina Trujic from UCF scored during the shootout, as did USF’s Sharla Passariello, Demi Stokes and Cristin Granados, leaving the shootout score at 4-3, Knights.
USF midfielder, Jessica Clark, stepped up to the goal to take the fourth shot for her team. She fired the ball to the right side, but it ricocheted off the left side of the goal and went out of bounds, leaving the Knights with an advantage; the score still remained at 4-3, Knights.
UCF sophomore, Allie Gerry, sealed the deal and made the winning penalty kick, leaving the shootout score at 5-3, Knights.
“PKs [penalty kicks] are one of my favorite things to do,” Gerry said, excitedly. “Honestly, the way I look at it is I’m just in the right place at the right time. The team did all the work – I didn’t play a minute. I’m just fortunate that they trust me to go out there and do my thing.”
The ladies hope to secure their championship title on Sunday at noon against No. 3 Rutgers.
