Oct. 17, 2010
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
| UCF at UTEP Oct. 17, 2010 |
| From El Paso, Texas | |||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | F | ||
| UCF | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| UTEP | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
UCF Goals: Kim Newsome (20th min), Tishia Jewell (46th min), Tishia Jewell (55th min), Nicolette Radovcic (57th min)
UTEP Goals: None
In Net
UCF: Aline Reis - 90:00 min, 0 GA, 4 SV
UTEP: Chandra Morden - 90:00 min, 4 GA, 8 SV
EL PASO, Texas (UCFAthletics.com) - One of the nation's top offensive threats, sophomore forward Tishia Jewell scored two goals and added two assists to guide the No. 18 UCF women's soccer team to a 4-0 victory at UTEP Sunday. The win allowed the Knights to improve to 10-3-3 on the year and 5-1-2 in Conference USA, marking the 10th-straight season the Black and Gold posted at least 10 wins.
"Scoring early in the second half after being up 1-0 at halftime proved that we were relentless the whole match," said head coach Amanda Cromwell. "And Tishia has been very consistent all season long. When she plays well, we play well. She is very hard for opponents to contain.
"Now we are coming home for the final three matches and that will be a huge advantage for us. We feel like if we win out we can still get first place."
The Knights are in a tie for second place with 17 points, trailing only Houston (19 points) which fell to the Knights, 2-1, Oct. 8.
Jewell entered the weekend ranked third in the country in assists and in the top 25 in points. With six points against the Miners, she moved her season total to 28 on nine goals and 10 assists. Those 10 assists already allow Jewell to tie for ninth with Michelle Akers, Danielle Thomas and Courtney Baines on UCF's single-season chart.
The win marked UCF's first over UTEP (10-6-0, 3-5-0) in three tries on the Miners' home field. The Black and Gold finished with a 21-7 lead in shots, and goalkeeper Aline Reis collected four saves for her third shutout of 2010.
UCF found its attacking rhythm immediately against the Miners, placing three shots on goal in the first 14 minutes with keeper Chandra Morden making the save each time. But finally in the 20th minute the Knights got on the board.
Entering as a sub at the 19:34 mark, Kim Newsome took only 25 seconds to score her seventh of the year. And it happened thanks to the impressive dribbling skills by Jewell. The forward beat several Miner defenders across midfield and towards the 18, where she sent it over to the front of the box. Newsome was waiting, turned and lifted a shot into the top left-corner for the 1-0 lead.
UCF would return into the box a few more times in the first half, including six corner kicks, but was unable to get its second goal. At the other end, UTEP also had runs towards the UCF net however the Knights' backs got in the way each time as Reis needed to make just two saves in the first 45 minutes.
And when the second half began, only 53 seconds ticked off the clock before UCF made it 2-0. Taking over possession from Katie Bolinsky, Jewell found herself all alone with the UTEP keeper 25 yards out. A quick move to her left and Jewell easily got past Morden and connected for her eighth goal of 2010.
But it would not be Jewell's only goal of the day. With numbers going towards the UTEP net in the 55th minute, Andrea Rodrigues passed it over to Bianca Joswiak on the left side and after evading a Minder defender, she crossed it into the box where Nicolette Radovcic headed it to the left post. Morden tried to grab it only to see Jewell get a leg on it only a yard from the net to bring the advantage to 3-0.
Still looking for more, the Knights made it 4-0 only two minutes later. Once again involved in the play, Jewell found Radovcic at the top-right corner of the 18 and even though she did not have an open look at the net, she created one. Radovcic simply curled around, put the ball on her right foot and fired a 22-yard shot into the far-left corner for her first of the year.
As UCF controlled all of the action in the second half, UTEP was unable to solve the Knights as the home team managed only four overall shots in the final 45 minutes, enabling UCF to earn the shutout.
The Knights have just three more regular-season games remaining and they all take place at home. They will battle Tulsa Oct. 22, SMU Oct. 24 and Southern Miss Oct. 29 before hosting the C-USA Championship Nov. 3-7.