ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Head Coach Tiffany Roberts is returning to her alma mater for the first time as a head coach this weekend. The UCF women's soccer team opens the 2016 campaign on the road, with a pair of matches at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Roberts Sahaydak, a UNC Alum, was a two-time national champion (2007, 2009) under head coach Anson Dorrance. She said Dorrance was one of her main sounding boards when she made the transition to coaching.
"He's actually been a great mentor of mine throughout my coaching career," Roberts Sahaydak said. "To come back here and get to compete against my old coach is like a dream come true."
Roberts Sahaydak and Dorrance met just once in Roberts Sahaydak's six seasons as head coach at VCU, with UNC prevailing 4-0. Friday will mark her first time facing Dorrance at Fetzer Field.
"I know his style of play, I played it. I feel like I know what he is going to be telling his players before they take the field, so I have some insight into their game plan and motivation. But he knows me really well also. He knows the type of player I was and how I coach, so it should be a fun game."
Chapel Hill is also special for Roberts Sahaydak because it's where she met her husband and UCF associate head coach Tim Sahaydak. Sahaydak was a standout on the UNC men's soccer team from 1995-1997 before turning pro.
He spent the better part of a decade in Major League Soccer playing for the Columbus Crew, Miami Fusion, FC Dallas and DC United. After his career, he joined Roberts Sahaydak at VCU in 2007 and UCF in 2013.
The pair head back to UNC this weekend on the verge of their 100th career win as a coaching duo with Roberts Sahaydak at the helm.
"I have a lot of wonderful memories of Chapel Hill," Roberts Sahaydak said. "We're really excited to be here. We're hitting up some of our old spots while we are in town, but UCF is my family now. This team is our future, but it's nice to able to share some of our history with our players."
On Sunday, Roberts Sahaydak will see another familiar face across the pitch. Duke assistant coach Carla Overbeck was a team alongside her on the 1996 gold medal squad. The two were also teammates in three World Cups including the 1999 championship.
"We know that Duke is one of the strongest teams in the country right now," Roberts Sahaydak said. "One of our biggest challenges is having to face a team like Carolina, with the way that they press and play a lot of people off the bench. To play such a physical match on Friday and have to turn around and play Duke on Sunday, our recovery is going to be huge. A lot of players are going to need to step up, it's going to take an entire team effort to get through these two games."
The Knights will face No. 12 North Carolina Friday Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The team will then remain in Chapel Hill to face No. 3 Duke on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. as part of a two-game road trip to kickoff the 2016 season.
