ORLANDO – The UCF women's soccer team came up short against Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Thursday night at the UCF Soccer Complex, as the Tigers edged the Knights on penalty kicks 6-5 after the match was tied 1-1 at the conclusion of regulation and two overtime periods.
Both squads shared possession in the opening 20 minutes of the first half, with four fouls committed in that span as UCF and Memphis competed for control. Mallory Olsson and Kristen Scott had shots blocked in the 21st minute, to which Memphis responded with two chances of its own along with a corner that was cleared away by the Knights defense.
In the 35th minute, sustained pressure from the Black and Gold forced the Tigers into their own corner. A Memphis defender played the ball towards the midfield line that was met with a Kelis Barton challenge and a through ball that played in Scott just outside the box. The AAC Offensive Player of the Year cut past one defender and played a perfect cross to connect with a running Anna Henderson who slipped it past the keeper on one touch to give the Knights an advantage.
The goal was Henderson's first since the Ole Miss game in September of this season and the second of her career. Scott's assist was her fourth of the year, all coming in the past eight games since returning from injury against Temple.
Not a single shot followed the Knights goal, giving the team a 1-0 lead going into the half. In the regular season, UCF was 4-0 at home when scoring the first goal, all coming in conference play.
It was back and forth between the semifinalists early in the second half. Sanja Homann had great shot saved by the Tigers goalkeeper five minutes in. Memphis found the equalizer in the 62nd minute on an in-swinging cross that was put away on a header by Lilly Huber. The goal marked the first the Knights have conceded at home since the Ole Miss contest on Sept. 4. UCF went 487 minutes across 10 halves between the Rebels goal and Thursday night's second-half Tigers leveler.
The battle continued into the 70th minute until the end of the game with chances from each side. Katie Bradley got a shot on target that was saved just before the final whistle.
The Knights and Memphis had a short break before the two 10-minute halves of overtime. It was UCF's first overtime match since the 2017 AAC Championship against South Florida.
Only two shots were tallied in the first 10, both coming from the Black and Gold. Olsson and Dayana Martin had shots blocked in the first minutes of the second overtime period before both teams moved onto penalties.
The shootout would go seven rounds before Memphis sealed it on a shot from Zoe May. The Tigers will meet SMU on Sunday in the AAC Tournament Final hosted at the UCF Soccer Complex at 1 p.m.
UCF will now await the NCAA women's soccer selection show on Monday to learn its placement in the 64-team field. The show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 4 p.m.