Oct. 9, 2009
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Remaining atop the Conference USA standings, the No. 16 UCF women's soccer team used 27 shots to take down UTEP, 3-2, Friday in front of 735 fans at the UCF Soccer Complex. Three different Knights scored goals to allow the Black and Gold to improve to 9-3-1 on the season and 4-1-0 in league play.
The evening's match against the Miners (9-4-0, 3-2-0) was dedicated to Freedom High soccer player Breanna McMahon, who was recently seriously injured in an accident which forced her left leg to be amputated. Members of her club team, FC America, were on hand accepting donations for the McMahon family.
"That was one of our typical games against UTEP," said head coach Amanda Cromwell. "They are a good, attacking team and counter so well. But 27 shots is a lot of shots. I think we were unlucky to not score more, but I'm glad we were able to give the crowd a good game. In a night where we dedicated this to Breanna, I'm very happy we won. I told the team before the game that she has been through a lot of adversity. And we ended up having some adversity tonight and we battled back from it."
UCF's 27 shots were the most all year, eclipsing the previous mark of 20 set in the season-opener vs. Florida Gulf Coast Aug. 21. Senior Emily Maynard finished with a game-high six attempts with three of them on goal. Meanwhile, the Knights dominated in corner kicks, completing the win with 13 compared to UTEP's one.
In net, sophomore Aline Reis added five more saves to help the defense hold on for the victory.
"In the back, you have to give credit to Nikki Moore for shutting down their right-flank player because she was giving us problems in the first half," said Cromwell. "We switched Nikki over there and she did an awesome job."
When the first half got underway, UTEP took advantage of a bad clearing attempt by the Knights, as Brittany Vacca secured the loose ball in the ninth minute and put it over Reis from about 35 yards out.
The Miners' lead would be short-lived. In the 23rd minute, freshman Bianca Joswiak witnessed her shot be blocked by a UTEP defender only to have classmate Nicolette Radovcic grab the rebound in the left side of the box and put it away for her third of the season.
With tons of momentum and several Knights taking aim at the net and UTEP keeper Chandra Morden, UCF did not want a tie going into halftime and got its wish in the 41st minute. After a pair of precise passes from freshman Tishia Jewell and senior Becca Thomas, junior Kim Newsome gained possession in front but her shot clanked off the crossbar. However it bounced high in the goal mouth and with Morden trying to recover back to position, Newsome easily headed it in to make it 2-1. It was her first goal of the 2009 campaign.
Entering the second half with a 13-5 advantage in shots, UCF could not hold on when Tameka Sumter deflected in a crossing pass from Anoop Josan in the 46th minute.
But that sparked the Knights' offense, and eventually they continued to put the UTEP backs on their heels throughout the second half. That finally resulted in the game-winner in the 55th minute, as a hard ball struck an arm of a Miner in the box, forcing the referee to call for a penalty kick. Senior Becca Thomas calmly walked up and executed, putting it in the left side for her first tally of the season.
The Knights will complete their C-USA weekend by welcoming Colorado College to town Sunday at noon. Admission is free.
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.
Postgame Notes
UTEP (9-4-0, 3-2-0) - 2
No. 16 UCF (9-3-1, 4-1-0) - 3
Goals: UTEP Brittany Vacca (2) 9th, UCF Nicolette Radovcic (3) 23rd, UCF Kim Newsome (1) 41st, UTEP Tameka Sumter (6), 46th, UCF Becca Thomas PK (1) 55th
-With Kim Newsome scoring her first of the year in the opening half and Becca Thomas doing the same in the second, a total of 12 different players have tallied goals in 2009.
-Thomas' penalty kick goal was UCF's first PK attempt of the year.
-UCF finished by outshooting UTEP, 27-12, including a 13-5 edge in the first half and 14-7 in the second.
-In all, Bianca Joswiak, Courtney Whidden, Becca Thomas and Tishia Jewell picked up assists for the Knights.