Nov. 10, 2008
NCAA Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
Story Notes
-UCF vs. Miami - Friday, 6:30 p.m. in Gainesville, Fla.
-Winner takes on Florida/California Sunday in Gainesville, Fla.
-UCF is 4-4-1 all-time vs. Miami. The two teams tied, 2-2, in Orlando in 2007.
-UCF is making its 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
-The Knights have been in the NCAA Tournament seven times in 10 years under head coach Amanda Cromwell.
-UCF's best finish in program history was national runner up in 1982.
-2008 record: 13-5-3
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's soccer team discovered Monday night that it will make its second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, as the 64-team field was officially announced. The Knights are set to tangle with Miami in the first round Friday in Gainesville with game time set for 6:30 p.m.
"It's definitely a relief seeing your school come up on the board," said head coach Amanda Cromwell, whose team watched the selection show on ESPNews at Smokey Bones in Waterford Lakes. "You never quite know until you see it, but we had a good feeling we were getting in this year since we had some quality wins and played well throughout the season.
"It's a great draw. We are very familiar playing at Florida's field in the postseason. We've had some success up there. And we didn't play Miami this year so that's kind of fun to play someone new. They are a quality opponent, and we know we will have to prepare a lot this week. We are really looking forward to Friday."
The winner of the UCF-Miami match-up will face off with either Florida or California on Sunday. The Gators and Bears meet Friday at 4 p.m.
Tickets for the first two rounds will be $7 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under, students and senior citizens. For more information contact the Florida Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683 ext. 6800 or 1-800-344-2867 ext. 6800.
UCF received an at-large bid to the postseason, its second in as many seasons, and will be making its 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Under Cromwell, the Black and Gold has reached the dance in seven of her 10 years at the helm of the program.
"This will be the second time in my four years that we've made it to the Tournament, so I really can't ask for anything more," said senior Hanna Wilde. "It's been a pretty good season. (To get to the Sweet Sixteen) we just have to play a whole 90 minutes, because there hasn't really been a game where we have played the best that we can for the full 90."
Last year, the Knights traveled to Gainesville and defeated Auburn, 3-1, in the first round and tied No. 6 Florida, 0-0, with the Gators advancing to the Sweet Sixteen on penalty kicks. UCF's best showing in the NCAA Tournament came in 1982 when it reached the championship game only to fall to North Carolina, 2-0, in Orlando. The Knights also reached the NCAA Final Four in 1987.
This season will be the fourth-consecutive time UCF will head to Gainesville for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), while it also traveled to UF for the 2001 event. However, the Knights have never faced Miami in the NCAAs. The all-time series between the two schools stands at 4-4-1 with the last meeting a 2-2 tie in Orlando in 2007.
Currently, UCF holds a 13-5-3 record and went 7-2-2 in Conference USA play. It amassed a 3-3-0 record during the 2008 season against teams that made the field of 64, posting wins over Florida, Illinois and Memphis while dropping decisions to Florida State, Kansas and Memphis.
Individually, juniors Becca Thomas and Nikki Moore were voted onto the All-C-USA First Team this year, junior Yvonne George and freshman Aline Reis earned spots on the All-C-USA Second Team, while Reis and Stacie Hubbard were tabbed for the C-USA All-Freshman Team. UCF's first starting freshman keeper since 1995, Reis has six shutouts and 96 saves, which rank sixth in school history for a single season.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to 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 UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.