ORLANDO – The UCF women's soccer team came from behind with a 3-1 win over FGCU on Sunday at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The Knights seemingly began the match from behind, following an FGCU goal from Louise Lillback, assisted by Libby Helverson, in the second minute.
Following the early Eagles goal, the Knights put sustained pressure on FGCU's backline, and that pressure was rewarded in the 20th minute. Darya Rajaee played a gorgeous overhead pass to Kristen Scott, who then spun her defender and put the ball past the keeper, leveling the game at one.
The Black and Gold finished the first half with 10 shots, three being on target, as the rain began to come down.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Rajaee found Ellie Moreno outside the box, she then played a perfect through ball into Mallory Olsson who took it first time and slotted the ball into the near post.
Seconds following Olsson's go-ahead goal, a lightning delay sent both teams back to the locker room with the Knights up 2-1 in the 58th minute.
As the match resumed following the hour delay, Scott found the back for the second time in the 61st minute. After a Knights throw-in, Kelis Barton found Scott running across the box, who took it with her left foot, beating the keeper once again.
Caroline DeLisle had three saves including two highlight reel saves on the day, the second coming just after Scott's third goal of the season, which kept the lead at two. The Knights backline held off a late Eagles surge, securing the 3-1 victory.
The win is UCF's second on the season, and their fourth consecutive over FGCU. Following two draws away from home, the Knights keep their perfect home record, scoring six and conceding one over the two matches.
Knight Notes
- Kristen Scott's brace was the first brace by a Knight since Ellie Moreno's two goal performance against Temple last season.
- The Knights have now scored six goals at home this season in two matches.
- UCF remains undefeated four matches into the season, which is the best start since 2002, when they started 4-0-0
Thoughts with Head Coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak
"We had a slow start; you never want to concede a goal that early on," Said Roberts Sahaydak. "It was a good opportunity to work on our resilience and come back and score some goals. Overall I'm proud we got the win. It was a really good performance outside of the goal that was scored on us."
Next Up
The Knights hit the road for a game against North Florida on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Jacksonville. The Black and Gold then return home for a matchup against Ole Miss on Sunday night at 6 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.