ORLANDO – Fresh off a fourth consecutive season-opening win, the UCF women’s soccer team has jumped two spots to No. 22 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the publication announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Knights kickstarted their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference with a 1-0 win over Purdue Thursday evening. Preseason All-Big 12 Team honoree Dayana Martin tallied the contest’s lone goal off a beautiful through pass from Xavier transfer Chloe Netzel. Caroline DeLisle collected her 27th career shutout on the other end, giving her a share of fourth most in program history.
The Black and Gold were ranked No. 24 in the preseason poll after a stellar 2022 season that saw the squad advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual-national champion UCLA in penalty kicks.
Three other Big 12 squads, Texas (No. 9), BYU (No. 11) and TCU (No. 16) are featured in the poll, as well as No. 8 Penn State, who will face the Knights Aug. 31 in University Park, Pennsylvania.
NEXT UP
The No. 22 Knights will travel to Athens, Georgia on Aug. 24 to face No. 25 Georgia at 6 p.m. before heading back to Orlando on Sunday for the home opener against North Florida at 5 p.m.