Sept. 23, 2006
ORLANDO - After enduring four games on the road, the UCF women's soccer team returns home to play host to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the UCF Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for noon.
The Golden Knights fell to 3-4-1 during their time away from Orlando. They had their four-match unbeaten streak ended in the second round of the UNLV Invitational on Sept. 10 when they dropped a 2-0 decision to Arizona State. UCF then suffered similar 2-0 defeats at No. 2 Florida State and at No. 18 Kansas. Throughout the road trip junior goalkeeper Jennifer Manis (Pensacola, Fla./Washington HS) remained steady as UCF's last line of defense, making an average of 5.67 saves in the final three matches.
Without game competition over the last seven days, the Golden Knights took the time to hone some of their skills.
"It was nice to have the week to just focus on training," said UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell. "We were able to go over tactical concepts and really get back to basics. The team did a lot of work on its attacking shape and finishing and crossing. We hope that this good week of training translates to the game on Sunday."
UC Santa Barbara fell to 2-3-3 after a 1-0 loss at Davidson on Friday night. While junior Katie Wright has played in five games with a 0.90 goals-against-average, freshman Tammy Lenham took the loss. Offensively, the Gauchos are led by senior Chandi Bickford with three goals - including to game-winners - and two assists for eight points.
UCF owns a 2-1 lead in the series history against the Gauchos, including a 4-0 win in California during the 2005 season.
The game against UCSB serves as the Golden Knights final tune-up prior to the start of conference play. UCF makes its Conference USA debut at No. 9 Rice on Friday, Sept. 29.
Admission to UCF women's soccer for the 2006 season is free courtesy of McDonald's. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.