Aug. 6, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Following one of the most memorable women's soccer seasons in UCF history, the Knights have returned to campus and are back on the field for preseason workouts. The program kicked off their first team practice Wednesday afternoon as the 2008 campaign will begin Aug. 22 at Florida State.
UCF is set to train for eight days leading up to a scrimmage at USF Aug. 16. It then practices for four days to get ready for FSU, which advanced to the NCAA College Cup finals last season. The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie in Orlando in 2007. The Knights' home opener is slated for Aug. 31 against Hartford.
The Black and Gold completed 2007 with a 15-4-4 record and its second Conference USA regular-season title in three years. Head coach Amanda Cromwell led the Knights to their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, where they defeated Auburn in the first round and tied Florida in the second round (lost on penalty kicks).
There will be a lot of returning talent on this year's UCF roster, with the top nine point scorers all back for 2008. One of those student-athletes is junior Becca Thomas. The midfielder led C-USA with 11 assists during her sophomore campaign, and ranked 15th in the nation with 0.52 assists per game. Thomas, who hails from Burlington, Wash., took some time off at the conclusion of the spring, but returned to Orlando to prepare for the upcoming schedule.
"When spring finished I went home for about three weeks and then I came back and trained here because the weather is a huge difference," said Thomas. "I also worked our soccer camps so I got to meet our incoming freshmen. They are really great players and I'm excited to play with them. But I trained and worked out with four or five of the girls, and I didn't take classes because I just wanted to play soccer this summer.
"I trained up until Sunday before taking off two days to let my body acclimate, and then we moved in Tuesday which took all day. I know a lot of the girls will be ready for the preseason since we made sure we were on top of our workouts."
All home matches at the UCF Soccer Complex are free to the public this season. The Knights will have a total of nine games on the UCF campus, including a clash against Big Ten foe Illinois Sept. 14, which reached the 2007 NCAA Second Round.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.