Orlando, Florida – The UCF women's soccer team fell in their second American Athletic Conference match of the season to Memphis at home Thursday night. The Knights fall to 5-4 (0-2-0 AAC) as Memphis secured the 2-1 win, their eighth win of the season.
The UCF offense got off to a slow start in the first half as Caroline DeLisle was forced to make multiple impressive saves after Memphis put pressure on the defense for much of the half. Late in the half, the Knights were able to gain some possession as both Mallory Olsson and Kristen Scott had good chances but couldn't find the back of the net before half-time.
Memphis opened the second half with a goal from Mackenzie Bray in the box. The Knights responded with a good spell of possession, and despite creating multiple chances, couldn't find any luck in the box.
In the 65th minute, Memphis doubled their lead on a Momo Nakao shot in the box that UCF goalkeeper DeLisle got a hand to but couldn't keep out. Like the first goal of the match, the Knights responded with some pressure, and found their first goal just a minute later. Darya Rajaee launched a screamer from a handful of yards outside the box, netting her third goal of the season.
With 25 minutes left in the match, Memphis was on their back heel as the Black and Gold looked for the equalizer, which they were unable to find before the final whistle.
Thoughts with Head Coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak
"I'm actually really proud of the team tonight, I thought we were highly competitive, and we absolutely did our best. Obviously, credit to Memphis, they're a great team – but for me, I want to see us competing for 90 minutes, and I thought we did that. We came up a little bit short, but I'm excited for this team because I think we're going to bounce back.
Knight Notes
- The Knights fall to 5-4-0, 0-2-0 AAC on the season, marking the first time in American Athletic Conference history UCF has been winless through two conference matches.
- UCF is now 10-13-1 all-time against Memphis and have lost two matches in a row against the Tigers
- Darya Rajaee's goal, her first non-penalty kick goal, marks her third of the fall campaign
- Caroline DeLisle continued her trend of tallying a lot of saves for the Knights, picking up seven in the contest
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