Oct. 23, 2015
UCF vs. USF (10-23-15) - Images by UCF Knights ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- UCF sent off its seniors with a 3-1 victory to extend its unbeaten streak over rival No. 18 USF to 11 straight on Friday night at the UCF Soccer Complex. Junior Carol Rodrigues netted her fifth game-winning marker on the campaign in the 68th minute.
"Being senior night, we wanted to give our seniors our everything," head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. "With this possibly being our last home game of the season, we had to make sure that they went out a winners."
The Knights celebrated the accomplishments of their five seniors - Ashley Spivey, Megan Fish, Madison Barney, Diana Manis and Amanda Wilkin - prior to the match. Spivey capped off her senior night by opening the scoring the 33rd minute.
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UCF (13-3-2) earned its first win over a nationally-ranked team, No. 18 USF (11-5-1, 6-3-0), this season and the first over a Top-25 squad since knocking off No. 9 Wisconsin in the 2014 NCAA Second Round.
The victory also sealed a third-place seeding for the Knights, who are currently set to begin The American Championship on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
Carol is Clutch
? Following a shot from the right wing by junior Kayla Adamek, Rodrigues calmly put the Knights in front during the 68th minute.
? It was the fifth game-winning goal of the season for Rodrigues, who joins Spivey (5) on the UCF single-season charts. The duo are the only teammates to appear on the list.
? The insurance marker for the Knights was started by Rodrigues on a pass to junior Cortney O'Connell, who sent junior Kayla Adamek on a breakaway in the 83rd minute.
Spivey's Senior Knight
? Spivey took a cross from the left wing by Sage Fredricksson that deflected off the keeper and scored on a one-touch shot into the open net.
? The opening marker in the 33rd minute was her 10th goal of the campaign.
? She tallied four shots, all of which were on target, in her final home game as a Knight.
"To get an early goal against a team that hadn't seceded a lot of goals this year kind of threw them off a little bit," Spivey said. "It built our confidence and provided us with momentum for the rest of the game."
Dominating Defense
? The Knights back four of Fredricksson, Callahan, Vera and Filliben kept USF to a number of long-range shots.
? Freshman Vera Varis made four saves, including a pair that kept the Knights in the lead.
"Something that coach [Roberts Sahaydak] always tells us is to have each other's backs," senior Megan Fish said. "We could not have done it by ourselves against a great USF team. If anyone was to make a mistake, then there was someone right behind them ready to make a play."
Up Next
? UCF has already punched its ticket to the American Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Nov. 3 in Dallas, Texas.
? The Knights have secured the No. 3 seed in the tournament following Cincinnati's loss to Memphis and are set to open up at 8 p.m. ET.
? UCF won the 2013 American Athletic Conference Tournament championship on its home field and looks to regain that glory once again for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Story by Nate Blythe. Photos by Brad Helton. Video by Troy Kless and Evan Weston.
Senior Knight by UCF Knights on Exposure