Nov. 13, 2007
The following story appears in the November edition of KnightVision. Produced 10 times per year, KnightVision is the official publication of the UCF Athletics Asssociation. Each issue includes stories about UCF teams, student-athletes and coaches. To order 10 exciting issues from August through June, call 1-888-877-4373 (ext. 121) or 336-768-3400 (ext. 121).
Another season. Another championship.
It has been a common theme throughout the UCF women's soccer program for a long time. When the Atlantic Sun started sponsoring the sport in 1993, UCF dominated the league, amassing an 83-13-3 record until moving to Conference USA for the 2005 campaign. That year, UCF went on to win a share of the regular-season crown in its new league.
And in 2007, the Black and Gold finished on top yet again. With a 7-1-1 C-USA record, the Knights split the regular-season title with Memphis, even though they defeated the Tigers, 2-1, Oct. 28. For UCF, it marked the third-straight year that it did not lose more than one league match.
But it did not come easy. The Knights needed to win their final game in order to secure the top seed for the C-USA Championship, and they had to do it on senior night Nov. 2. Facing a Southern Miss squad that was hoping to climb the standings for a better seed in the postseason, UCF began to worry when the match reached halftime with neither team on the board. As overtime loomed in the distance, the Knights finally converted in the 73rd minute, picking up the crucial go-ahead goal from Brianna Schooley. When Danielle Dos Santos scored just 5:12 later, the celebration was on.
"Feelings can't even describe this," smiled senior Kate Begley following the 2-0 win. "After that Memphis game when we won, so many of us just fell down and cried. So this season has meant so much to us, especially the seniors. We've been through a lot, and this feels really good."
The UCF defense controlled the tempo of the match vs. Southern Miss, enabling the offense to do its work as it fired off 27 shots in the victory. Conversely, the Knights allowed just three total shots, all of which came in the first half.
"Our backs are so athletic that they allow us to attack with as many numbers as we do, which is the key to our success," said associate head coach Colby Hale. "But we put a lot of pressure on them because we don't defend with a lot of numbers. At times there are only two maybe three players back, and they're responsible for a lot. But because of that, we're allowed to attack with seven or eight players."
UCF's system definitely worked against the Golden Eagles. However, head coach Amanda Cromwell admitted there was some extra motivation behind her team going after another league trophy.
"The theme for the match was, `Let's do it for the seniors. Let's honor them in how we play,'" said Cromwell, who led UCF to the NCAA Second Round in her first year with the Knights in 1999. "We also try to promote (a winning tradition). We want to win the conference every year and we try to build a team that can do that. Obviously we lose talent every year but we bring in talent to make up for it. We have this tradition here of winning and we wanted to continue that."
Now with a 22-3-2 record and two regular-season crowns in three seasons in C-USA, that tradition certainly lives on.
- Brian Ormiston