Sept. 28, 2007
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ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Sophomore Brianna Schooley (Coral Springs, Fla.) used two late goals to help the UCF women's soccer team defeat Loyola (Md.) Friday, 3-2, at the UCF Soccer Complex. Her game-winner came with just 1:32 left in regulation on a corner kick from senior Arielle Orr (Palm Harbor, Fla.), as the Knights finished their nonconference schedule with a 5-2-2 record.
"The one thing about this group is that they are very resilient," said head coach Amanda Cromwell. "This is one of the first teams in my career that doesn't get affected mentally or emotional when a goal is scored against them. A lot of times you will see a letdown when a team just gets scored on because they drop their heads or have some breakdowns and never recover from that. But almost every time this year that we have been down, we come back. It's a great characteristic to have as a team to know that when you are down you can always recover. We just don't want to get into the habit of that."
Although weather delayed the start of the game by 40 minutes, it did not prevent the UCF offense from outshooting Loyola (2-5-1), 25-14, in the victory. The Black and Gold also moved its home record to 3-0-2 on the season.
Loyola secured the first quality scoring chance of the match in the 23rd minute as Lina Staropoli saw her shot from the top of the box tipped over the goal by senior Jennifer Manis' (Pensacola, Fla.) outstretched paw. However, the Greyhounds' next opportunity put them on the scoreboard thanks to a lucky bounce. In the 28th minute, Lea Day ripped a shot from the left side towards the far post and it was deflected by a UCF defender into the net to give Loyola a 1-0 lead.
In hopes of tying the Greyhounds, sophomore Yvonne George (Winter Springs, Fla.) slipped through the defense with 11:30 remaining in the stanza and blasted a shot that Loyola keeper Brittany Henderson barely got a piece of, holding the Knights scoreless. George returned in the 43rd minute and this time was able to tie it at 1-1. As freshman Kacie Horner (Franklin, Tenn.) fired a shot that was blocked from about 25 yards out, George, who was trailing the play, picked up the rebound and beat Henderson to the lower right corner. It was George's third tally of the season, and Horner's assist was her first collegiate point.
Although Loyola lost the lead to close the half, it found a way to retake a one-goal advantage in the 64th minute of the second half when Colleen Kinealy scooped up a loose ball and found the net from the right side of the pitch. The Knights quickly replied in the 69th minute to erase their second deficit of the match. George once again found herself in the middle of the play, sending a pass over to Schooley in the box who placed her shot under the crossbar for her first goal of the year.
Schooley was not done. In the 89th minute and overtime looming, she took position close to the far post on a corner kick. Orr's delivery was right on target and Schooley sent a header past Henderson for the eventual game-winner.
"I had this thought in my head tonight that this match was a lot more important than some people realized," said Cromwell. "This game was huge because it led into conference play. We are now 5-2-2, we've had a nice homestand and we'd like to continue this undefeated streak."
With the nonconference slate behind it, UCF enters Conference USA action next weekend when it hosts Marshall Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. and East Carolina Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.
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