Sept. 30, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Big-time success is just a way of life around the UCF women's soccer team, a program that has reached the second round of the NCAA tournament four-consecutive seasons.
But this year, the vibe is different and those lofty expectations are even greater for one of the most accomplished programs at UCF. No longer will winning the Conference USA crown, something that UCF (6-2-2) can make progress toward doing tonight at 7 p.m. when it hosts UTEP (8-2-1), be enough to satisfy the Knights. No longer will simply reaching and winning a game in the NCAA tournament qualify as meeting a goal.
No, these Knights feel like they have the talent to reach the NCAA's Final Four and even dream of winning a national championship. That's something they proved themselves worthy of doing earlier this season by knocking off ranked teams like Penn Stat. And the Knights aren't shying away from their incredibly high expectations for this season.
``We fully believe that and we've been preaching it all year,'' said senior midfielder Stacie Hubbard. ``Over the summer we got in contact with a lot of the freshmen and told them about the mentality of this team and our goals. We told them that the second round isn't good enough where it has been before. There's just a totally different atmosphere this year. We strive for excellence and that's what we want to reach.
``We're constantly talking about the fact that our goals aren't just to be C-USA champs or tournament champs; it's to be national champs,'' Hubbard continued. ``That's what we've been preaching and everybody here believes that we can do it. Now, it's just a matter of getting it done.''
The Knights have been getting it done in a big way so far this season. They routed rival South Florida early in the season and played impressively during roadtrips to San Diego and Charlottesville, Va. UCF tied San Diego State and beat San Diego on the West Coast and were even more impressive in Virginia. Playing at the University of Virginia - head coach Amanda Cromwell's alma mater - UCF beat Penn State 2-1 and Washington State 2-0 to win the tournament. That proved to a beaming Cromwell that this team is serious about meeting the raised expectations this season and doing something truly special.
``Just getting to the second round (of the NCAAs) is not even close to good enough. We talk about this team being good enough to get to the Final Four,'' said Cromwell, who has led the Knights to a 179-75-20 record, nine NCAA berths and four C-USA regular-season titles in her 12 seasons at UCF. ``That's why we play the best teams in our nonconference schedule with Penn State and Washington St and in years past we've played UNC, Duke, Florida and Florida State. We try to challenge ourselves because those are the teams we'll have to beat in the NCAA Tournament. And I think we've proven ourselves on the road. Out in San Diego and in Virginia, there were good teams out there and we proved we can win on the road. So I think that bodes well for tournament time.''
What also bodes well for the Knights is their depth of talent. Nine different players have scored goals so far, helping UCF hold an 18-10 scoring advantage and a 128-94 edge in shots on goal. Junior forward Tishia Jewell (three goals, seven assists) and senior goalkeeper Aline Reis (36 saves, three shutouts) are the stars of the team. Nicolette Radovcic (four goals, three assists) and Hubbard (two goals, one assist) and Katie Jackson (one goal, one assist) provide great depth for a team that is daring to dream big this season.
UCF was unranked much of the early part of the season, possibly a mechanism of the high level of play expected by the Knights after a decade of dominance. But UCF ultimately proved that it will be a team to contend with late in the postseason with its success at knocking off other ranked foes.
``There's just something about it when we're the underdogs and we're being underestimated. In the beginning of the season we were beating all of these teams and they weren't ranking us and that just made us thrive. We believe that we have a great team and can go all the way,'' said Jackson, a senior midfielder from Satellite Beach. ``We have a great team and we have all of the pieces to make it to the Final Four. So it's important for us this year to get over that (second-round) hurdle.''
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.