ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team will kick off its inaugural Big 12 season ranked No. 24 by the United Soccer Coaches, announced in the preseason poll released on Tuesday.
The Knights are coming off an electric 2022 season, where they were crowned AAC regular-season champions, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, coming up short to eventual national champion UCLA in penalty kicks.
This is the first time the Knights have been ranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll since 2018, where they were ranked No. 16.
Three other Big 12 squads, TCU (No. 9), BYU (No. 13) and Texas (No. 15) are featured in the poll, as well as No. 10 Penn State, who will face the Knights Aug. 31 in University Park, Pennsylvania.
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The No. 24 Knights will open the 2023 season on the road, traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana to face Purdue on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.