ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Facing the No. 16 ranked Wisconsin women's soccer team on Opening Knight, UCF fell by a score of 1-0 at the UCF Soccer Complex on Thursday evening.
Starting the night on the offensive, the Knights nearly took a lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, taking four shots to put the Badger defense on its heels.
“I think you’re going to see that we’re going to be a dangerous attack, and we saw that today. We’re going to continue to work on that and create quality chances.” said head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak on the team's production.
Leading the charge for the Knights offense, Mallory Olsson put three of her four shots on target and created pressure on the Wisconsin backline all night. The Black and Gold had its best chance to score when Olsson earned a penalty kick in the 79th minute, but it was ultimately saved by the Badger keeper.
The lone goal of the match came when a loose ball got away from the Knights defense in a dangerous position in the 64th minute and fell to Dani Rhodes of the Wisconsin attack, who put it away.
Making her first career start in a regular-season contest, Caroline DeLisle came up with some big stops in the net for UCF, making three saves.
“I’m really proud of how we’ve improved since our last game," Roberts Sahaydak added. "I think people saw that our attack can be really dangerous, and we have multiple players that can get in behind [the defense]. Our back four was more solid as well as Caroline DeLisle, being a rookie, has been coming up pretty big for us. So, there were a lot of bright spots for us.”
NEXT UP
UCF will continue its 2019 slate against another Big Ten opponent as it welcomes Ohio State (Aug. 28) to the UCF Soccer Complex.
DON'T MISS OUT
The UCF women's soccer team is in its seventh season under head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak. Click here or call (407) 823-1000 for ticket information.