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Women's Soccer Opens Conference USA Play Friday Night

Sept. 29, 2005

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ORLANDO, Fla.-The UCF women's soccer team (3-6-0) will host its first Conference USA match Friday, Sept. 30 when Southern Miss (3-2-1) comes to town. Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Golden Knights travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on Florida Atlantic (7-3-0) at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT FOR UCF
The Golden Knights defeated Florida International Friday, Sept. 23, 4-0. UCF was led by Jessica Hallgren, who scored her first goal of the season and also recorded an assist. Jessalyn Withers scored the first goal of the match nine minutes in when Hallgren sent a free kick toward the net for Withers to head in. Roberta Pelarigo added the second goal 10 minutes later when Courtney Baines placed a corner kick in front of the goal for Shannon Wing, who headed the ball to Pelargio for the score. Jennifer Montgomery scored her first goal of the season five minutes after Pelarigo's when she took a pass from Stacey George and was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. With less than a minute to play in the match, Hallgren sent a bullet of a shot screaming toward the goal past the keeper to give the Golden Knights the 4-0 victory. UCF's goalkeeper Beth Harless recorded her first shutout of the season with seven saves. The Golden Knights outshot the Golden Panthers, 28-16, while UCF held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 6-5. Pelarigo had six shots on the evening, while Hanna Wilde had four. Arielle Orr, Baines and Montgomery each had three shots.

TEAM LEADERS FOR UCF
Roberta Pelarigo leads the team in points with seven (3 goals, 1 assist), while Jessica Newport is second with five (2 goals, 1 assist). Pelarigo also paces the offense with 33 shots. Jennifer Manis has started five contests in goal for the Golden Knights, while Beth Harless has made four starts of her own. Manis has allowed eight goals with nine saves, one shutout and a 1.60 goals-against-average, while Harless has allowed four goals with 18 saves and a 0.99 GAA.

UP NEXT FOR UCF
The Golden Knights continue on the road when the team travels to Texas to take on Tulane Friday, Oct. 7 in College Station at 4:30 p.m. and UTEP Sunday, Oct. 9 in El Paso at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT FOR SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss was defeated by Jacksonville State, 2-0, Sunday, Sept. 18 in Alabama. Heather Swift and Daniela Malta scored the two goals for the Gamecocks in the second half of the match. The Eagles held a small advantage in corner kicks (2-1) and saves (4-3), while Jacksonville State outshot Southern Miss, 12-11.

TEAM LEADERS FOR SOUTHERN MISS
Leading the way for Southern Miss is Micah Stephens with 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists). Stephens and Sarah McFadden pace the Eagles in shots with 18 apeice. Goalkeeper Holly Cox has played in five matches with four starts. Cox has one shutout on the season with 18 saves and a 1.60 GAA.

SERIES NOTE
This will be the first time that UCF and Southern Miss have met on the turf.

LAST TIME OUT FOR FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Florida Atlantic defeated Belmont, 4-0, Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. Monique Cabrera netted Florida Atlantic's first goal in the 34th minute of the match. Danielle DiLeo added two more goals for the Owls, while Christina Chang had one in the second half. The Owls held the advantage in shots (11-8) and saves (5-2), while Belmont had more corner kicks (2-1).

TEAM LEADERS FOR FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Leading the way for Florida Atlantic is Susanna Lehtinen, who has 13 points (6 goals, 1 assist). Lehtinen also paces the team in shots with 20. Megan Coyne and Jessica Badders have split time in goal for the Owls this season. Coyne has four starts in eight matches with one goal allowed and a 0.19 GAA, while Badders has two starts in seven matches with five goals allowed and a 1.11 GAA.

SERIES NOTE
This will be the 21st time that UCF and Florida Atlantic have met on the soccer field. The Golden Knights lead the series, 15-4-1. The last time these two teams met was in 2004 with UCF defeating Florida Atlantic, 3-0, in Orlando. Allison Blagriff netted the first Golden Knight goal less than four minutes into the match. Shannon Wing scored the second goal of the afternoon during the 19th minute when Jessalyn Withers sent a corner kick to the goalbox. UCF's third goal of the day came off the foot of Kendra Flock who took a pass from Courtney Baines.

AMONG THE BEST IN C-USA
Junior forward Roberta Pelarigo and senior goalkeeper Beth Harless are both ranked among the best in Conference USA. Pelarigo is sixth in shots (33) and seventh in shots per game (3.67), while Harless is fourth in save percentage (.818).

1-2 VS. TEAMS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA
The 2005 women's soccer team is currently 1-2 versus teams from the state of Florida. The Golden Knights defeated Florida International, 4-0, on Sept. 23 after the team fell to Florida State, 3-0, on Sept. 7 and Florida, 2-0, on Sept. 18. In 2004, UCF was 9-0 against teams from the state of Florida with wins over Florida International, Miami, Stetson, Jacksonville (twice), USF, Florida Atlantic, Florida State and Florida. The Golden Knights defeated then No. 12 Florida State in Tallahassee, 3-2, and No. 10 Florida in Gainesville, 3-2, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.