Nov. 15, 2007
UCF NCAA College Cup Central | | UCF First Round Notes
ORLANDO - The second season has arrived for the UCF women's soccer team. The Knights kick off the NCAA Tournament First Round against Auburn Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Gainesville, Fla. The winner will take on either host Florida or Miami (Fla.) Sunday at 1 p.m.
Ticket Information
UCF fans wishing to attend the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville can purchase tickets at the gate, or by calling the Florida Ticket Office at 352-375-4683, ext. 6800. Adults are $7 and children 12 and under are $3.
Recapping the C-USA Championships
As the top seed for the C-USA Championships, UCF cruised past East Carolina in the first round, 2-0, then hung on for a 1-0 win over Rice in the semifinals. But two late goals in the finals by Memphis ended the Knights' hopes of the tournament crown.
Previewing Auburn
Auburn enters with a 10-7-2 record and a 6-5-0 mark in the SEC. The Tigers began the year with a 9-3-1 record before dropping four-straight outings. They are 1-3-2 vs. ranked teams and 0-0-2 on neutral surfaces. Auburn has outscored opponents 28-21, and is led by Caitlin King who has 21 points off four goals and 13 assists. In net, Allison Whitworth has played every minute in 2007 and owns a 1.07 GAA with eight shutouts. In the series, UCF leads 3-1-0 but suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Tigers in the 2002 NCAA First Round.
Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa served as UCF's leader from 1993-98 and won five Atlantic Sun titles with the Knights. She also was a standout keeper for the Black & Gold as she is currently the career leader with a 0.59 GAA and 30.5 shutouts from 1987-90.
Previewing Florida
Possibly the hottest team in the nation, Florida has won 12-straight outings en route to claiming the SEC Tournament title, and 10 of those victories were shutouts. The Gators are 16-4-2 this year and 9-1-1 at home. They went 3-2 vs. ranked teams, including a 2-1 win over Florida State. As a team, UF has a GAA of 0.49 with 14 shutouts. Stacy Bishop leads the offense with 10 goals and 10 assists for 30 points. In the series vs. UCF, Florida has a 9-1-0 advantage.
Previewing Miami
Although the Hurricanes are 0-3-2 in their last five, they still have a 9-6-5 record and have posted wins over No. 7 North Carolina and No. 4 Boston College. Brittney Steinbruch is tied for ninth in the country with 16 goals and has amassed 110 shots on the year. UCF tied Miami earlier this year with a goal by Courtney Whidden with 2.8 seconds left in regulation. That tie moved the all-time series to 4-4-1.
UCF in the NCAA Tournament
Making its 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament, UCF leads all Division I schools in the state of Florida in total appearances, and is tied for 14th most out of this year's field of 64. During the season, the Knights faced five other programs that have reached the Tournament (Penn State, Memphis, Florida State, Miami, Loyola (Md.)) and they posted a 2-2-2 record against those squads.
For more information on UCF's complete history in the NCAA Tournament, visit page three of the PDF game notes.
Not a Bad Record at All
A 14-4-3 overall record certainly has UCF smiling. Besides C-USA, the Knights defeated opponents from the Big Ten, Mountain West, Big West, SEC and MAAC. They also tied two members of the ACC. In all, two of the three losses were by 1-0 scores, including a defeat at the hands of No. 7 Penn State. Meanwhile, the Knights played No. 11 Florida State to a 3-3 draw. Looking back, UCF had a very tough non-conference schedule and survived with a 5-2-2 mark before it went 7-1-1 in C-USA.
Dominant at Home
UCF went 7-0-3 in home matches this year, with the three ties coming against No. 11 Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Colorado College. The Knights outscored the opposition at the UCF Soccer Complex, 24-10, in 2007. The last time UCF was undefeated at home was 1999 when the Knights were 9-0-0.
Always Near the Top
Since 1993 when UCF first joined a conference, the Knights have never lost more than three league games, and the only year they did drop three matches (1996), the Black and Gold still went on to win the A-Sun title. Through three seasons in Conference USA, UCF has a combined 22-3-2 league record.
Fan Support
The 956 fans that came out to watch UCF erase a 3-1 halftime deficit to tie No. 11 FSU Sept. 22 was the largest home crowd since 1982. That year, UCF hosted North Carolina in the NCAA Championship final match on Nov. 21 and the Tar Heels escaped with a 2-0 win in front of 1,134 fans.