Storrs, Conn. (UCFKnights.com) – After finishing the regular season on the road Sunday, the UCF women's soccer team spent less than 18 hours back in Orlando before boarding a plane to Connecticut Monday.
The Knights earned the No. 6 seed in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament and will face No. 3 seed SMU at UConn's Joseph J. Morrone Stadium Wednesday. The Huskies earned the right to host the tournament after finishing atop the regular-season conference standings.
The Black and Gold will be looking for redemption after being defeated at home by the Mustangs during regular season play. The team has taken four flights in six days since wrapping up regular season play on the road, but head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said the team is recovering and will be ready to play.
"It's been quite a whirlwind since our Tulsa-Memphis trip," Roberts Sahaydak said. "I've been letting them sleep in because I think recovery is the biggest piece to us being successful."
The winner will face the No. 2 seed Memphis on Friday, providing additional motivation for the Knights, who dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in double-overtime to the Tigers in the final match of the regular season.
The conference champion will secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but a trip to the semi-finals or finals could help in earning UCF an at-large selection.
The Matchup
• The match will stream live on the American Digital Network.
• UCF finished with a conference record of 4-4-1 while SMU was 6-2-1.
• UCF owns the all-time series 13-6-0 but last time the two met, the Mustangs defeated the Knights 3-1 in a regular season match in Orlando.
• The winner will advance to meet No. 2 seed Memphis on Friday Nov. 4 at 4:30 p.m. EST
UCF Gameday Notables
• Junior Saga Fredriksson was named 2016 AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year
• Senior Carol Rodrigues earned First-Team All-AAC honors
• Junior Morgan Ferrara was named Second-Team All-AAC.
• Freshman Zandy Soree was among the AAC All-Rookie recipients.
• Through 18 games, 13 different players have scored 35 total goals for the Black and Gold.
