The No. 23 UCF women’s soccer team claimed their second consecutive AAC regular season title Friday night, blanking out East Carolina 2-0.
The eleventh shutout of the season pushed UCF to the top seed in the conference tournament and to 7-1 overall in conference play.
East Carolina University (10-6-1, 4-4-0 AAC) proved to be no match for the Knights (14-3-0, 7-1-0 AAC), earning zero shots on goal. Assisted by Alex Piercy and Tatiana Coleman, the first strike would come from junior midfielder Ashley Spivey, who slid the ball to the left of ECU goalkeeper Erika Lenns and into the back of the net.
Into the 31st minute, senior forward Tatiana Coleman broke through the Pirates’ defense, racing for the net, only to be tripped inside the box by ECU defense. Awarded a penalty kick, Coleman would fake out the Pirates’ goalkeeper and make the game’s second goal.
“It was an amazing night, first off, just to celebrate our seniors [on their senior night] and to dedicate this game to them,” said head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak. “I loved the way the team played tonight, they really exemplified everything that we talk about. Their energy, their passion, their movement off the ball, the chances that they created, especially in the first half, I couldn’t be more proud of what this team did together, and they did it as a team, I’m just really, really proud of them.”
Tatiana Coleman made her tenth goal of the season, adding an eighth win to the Knights’ unbroken home field advantage.
“It’s amazing, honestly, to be a part of this team and to be able to win this for my team my last and final year. I can’t even put it into words, it’s just such a great feeling, we worked so hard for this,” said Coleman. “I’m ready to see us step it up to the next level, going into post season, I really think we can sharpen up and really be one of the top teams out there.”
The AAC Championship trophy was awarded by UCF athletics director Todd Stansbury.
The first round and quarterfinal matches will be hosted by UCF next weekend, where the winner of the October 31st game played by the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds will meet the Knights.
The Knights will play their last regular season game on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Cincinnati in the annual Pink game for breast cancer awareness month.
