Women’s Soccer
Undeterred by another rain-played game, the Knight’s soccer team closed out the weekend with two wins against nationally ranked Long Beach State and Ole Miss, adding a fourth straight shutout for the women’s team this season.
In a close match against Long Beach (4-3-3) senior forward Tatiana Coleman ended the deadlock by making her sixth goal of the year in the 50th minute. UCF goalkeeper Connie Organ anchored the defense by holding off Long Beach’s attempts for an equalizer, sealing the win.
Unfamiliar with the rainy conditions, the California based team had to come out strong to match up against UCF (7-2-0). The Knights offense outshot The Beach 12-6, giving LBS goalkeeper Ashton McKeown a career high in saves but ultimately letting one slip through for a Knight’s victory.
“I would say fierce is a really good word to describe the team today,” said head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak. “I really think we stepped it up in the physical area, we were winning balls in the air, 50-50 balls even on the ground, we were doing whatever it takes. I thought it was a real inspiring performance from our team.”
In addition to the triumph against Long Beach, UCF delivered a crushing 4-0 win against Ole Miss (6-2-2), putting an end their six match victory streak.
With a second goal coming just minutes after the first, the Knights used their momentum to connect two more goals before closing out the non-conference match.
“I think once we got that goal it kind of changed the momentum of the game, that just kind of ignited us,” said Sahaydak. “We knew that they’d have some momentum, but we talked about playing our style, playing our game, being physical and having a lot of respect. Credit to our team, they really respected Ole Miss tonight. And I think when you respect a team you can have results like this tonight.”
UM fell behind early in the game and could not regroup for a win. The Knight’s defense held tight and limited the opportunities for a goal by the Rebels.
“It was a tough one down here where we didn’t get off to a great start,” said Ole Miss head coach Matthew Mott. “UCF scored a couple of good goals and put us behind. We have to learn from it and be better.”
The focused gameplay by the women’s team earned their players three out of the four league honors Monday, with Tatiana Coleman winning for offense, Connie Organ winning as goalkeeper, and Sophie Howard winning for defense.
UCF will begin conference play at Memphis on Thursday at 8pm ET.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team fell to North Florida 0-1 last Wednesday, unable to connect any of the five shots made in the first half. A goal opportunity came early in the game for sophomore Javier Clavijo but Osprey’s goalkeeper Kyle Nasta denied the shot as well as one made on a rebound.
A goal in the 75th minute broke the stalemate, giving UNF the win while dropping the Knights to a 1-4-1 record.
UCF owns a 7-3 all-time record when facing UNF (3-3-0) but has lost the past two years to the in-state opponent.
“Our players learned a hard lesson that everybody is going to come into games ready to fight and ready to work hard,” head coach Bryan Cunningham said. “We have to be ready to not only match that, but try and get above it. A pretty low moment in UCF soccer, no discredit to UNF, which did a fantastic job tonight managing the game. This is more an indication that our team has a long way to go.”
The men’s team next faces Indiana at Indiana on Wednesday at 7:30pm ET.
