ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's soccer team Presented by Napleton Volkswagon, will honor its senior class prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday, as the Knights take on East Carolina in the final regular season home match of 2016.
After a tough loss at home to Cincinnati Thursday, only three regular-season matches remain. Every game is now crucial as just the top-six teams will qualify for the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Add to that the emotions of the UCF seniors taking the field at the UCF Soccer Complex for the final time, and Sunday's match is set to be something special.
UCFKnights.com caught up with each of the seniors to ask about their favorite soccer and non-soccer moments at UCF. They were each also asked what they learned from being a student-athlete and what being a Knight has meant to them.
Here is what they had to say:
Carol Rodrigues – "My favorite soccer moment was when I scored the bicycle kick against Tulsa and it was featured on ESPN's top 10. That led to my favorite non-soccer moment when I was asked to throw out the first pitch at a Baseball game. As a student athlete at UCF I learned how to set priorities and that time is precious, we need to use it wisely. For me, being a Knight is all about playing for love and pride in my teammates and my school. In the future I hope to play professional soccer but would also like to learn another language, earn a master's degree, and travel the world."
Carlin Huegli – "The best memory I have playing soccer at UCF was beating Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament to advance to the sweet 16 in 2014. My favorite memory overall was the 2015 Knights Without Borders trip to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, no question about it. That experience and my time as a student-athlete taught me to persevere when faced with adversity and to use every challenge encountered as a learning experience and motivation for the future. If you stay true to yourself and continue to work hard, good things will come your way. Being a knight means you are selfless. Being a knight means you are relentless when it comes to any task, you wear your schools name with pride and you always strive to be better and do better. I'll continue to play soccer no matter where I live or what point in my life I'm at. I would also love to coach, my dream would be to coach at the collegiate level. I also want to further my education by attending graduate school with a focus in psychology."
Amanda Wilkin – "Winning the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship was the best. The match went to double overtime and ended in a shootout where we beat Rutgers 8-7 in PKs on our home field. Being a part of two Knights Without Borders to St. Vincent & The Grenadines was without question my best non-soccer experience. My time as a Knight taught me that you have to go after what you want and work hard no matter the situation and to always be willing to try new things. Being a Knight means being hard working open minded person that can adapt to situations and excel."
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