Nov. 2, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - A late goal was not enough Wednesday as the fourth-seeded UCF women's soccer team fell 2-1 to fifth-seed East Carolina in the Conference USA Championship quarterfinals at Mike Rose Soccer Stadium. The Knights (11-4-5) finished with a 19-11 shot advantage, but were not able to get past the Pirates and move on to the semifinals.
East Carolina (11-7-1) scored in the 20th minute and then added another tally at the start of the second half to go up 2-0. The Knights were aggressive all game, and totaled 13 shots in the second half. Junior Nicolette Radovcic (Rockaway, N.J.) got UCF on the board in the 86th minute when she controlled a shot from Kristina Trujic that hit the post, and then beat East Carolina goalkeeper Christiane Cordero.
After Radovcic's goal, freshman Alex Piercy (Brookfield, Wis.) attempted to score, but her shot was blocked with just over two minutes remaining.
"ECU fought hard. They take their chances," UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. "They definitely work hard. After they scored the second goal, we had to change our style -- we had to adapt and adjust. The urgency we had in the last 15 minutes was great, but we didn't have that in the whole game. We scored a goal with three minutes left to go and I think if we had five more minutes, I think we would have scored another one, but it's only 90 minutes and that's that."
Cordeo recorded 10 saves in the win. The Pirates will face either top seed and tournamernt host Memphis or eighth seeded Tulsa in the semifinals Friday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
UCF and East Carolina were meeting for the second time this season. On Oct. 9, the Knights rolled to a 2-0 win over the host Pirates in Greenville.
Tishia Jewell played all 90 minutes and totaled six shots, including three on goal. Radovcic added four shots, and senior Stacie Hubbard (Jacksonville, Fla.) registered three shots on goal. Fellow senior Aline Reis (Campinas, Brazil) stopped three shots.
The Knights finished with a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
UCF will now wait for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship, which begins on Nov. 11.