Oct. 5, 2012
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The No. 8 UCF women's soccer team rolled to its fourth-straight shutout victory on Friday night with a 2-0 decision over Tulsa. The Knights (10-2-1, 4-1-0) have outscored their opponents 11-0 in the last four matches to roll to their 12th-straight double-digit-win season.
Due to a heavy rainstorm that soaked Orlando for much of the afternoon, the majority of the first half was a back-and-forth battle but UCF maintained an edge with five shots on goal.
The Knights had a great look at the net in the 37th minute as midfielder Madison Barney found defender Bianca Joswiak in the corner. Joswiak sent a cross to freshman Maxine Murchie in the box, but her shot was saved by Tulsa keeper Hayley Harryman.
Senior Nicolette Radovcic sent the Knights into halftime with some momentum when she connected for her ninth goal of the year in the 42nd minute. Megan Fish managed to advance the ball to Radovcic in a scramble in front of the net to put the Knights up 1-0.
"I think that definitely helped getting one (goal) right before the half and it set the tone for the second half," Radovcic said. "[Tishia Jewell] putting it away was big for us and that gave us a little cushion at the end."
Jewell added an insurance goal in the 71st minute for her fourth score of the year, but not without a couple of near-goals first.
In the 69th minute, Fish dished a ball to Jewell on the left side, but Harryman had a nice deflection. A minute later, Jewell struck again with a dart that Tulsa's keeper dived to save. Murchie rebounded with a header that hit the post, and Harryman was able to scoop up the ball before another Knight could threaten to score again.
Finally, Jewell hit the back of the net when defender Sokhara Goodall sent a cross from the right corner of the field to the top of the box where Jewell buried it into the far post.
Once again, the Knights' defense was impenetrable, refusing to allow a shot on goal throughout 90 minutes to lock up UCF's eighth shutout of the year.
"Zero shots on goal is very impressive and [Tulsa had] only two corner kicks," UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. "I think our defense is very stingy. You don't even know how good our goalkeepers are because our defense is so good - some games they don't even have to make a save. That says a lot about the back four, and Madi and Sophie (Howard), and Fish went in there today and did very well."
UCF concludes its homestand Sunday at 1 p.m. against SMU on Hispanic Heritage Day with a `Los Knights' T-shirt raffle and a $100 gift-card giveaway to Bravo Supermarkets.
UCF's soccer scarf is now available for a discounted price of $15 and includes entry to the remaining home games. The Gold Pass, which includes season tickets to all volleyball, men's and women's soccer, women's basketball, softball and track and field contests, is also available now. For more information and to place an order, call the UCF Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com.