ORLANDO – Fresh off a 5-1 victory in the season opener at Florida Atlantic last week, the UCF women’s soccer team will host Utah Valley for its 2024 home opener on Thursday.
The contest will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex and is the first match of a Thursday evening doubleheader with the UCF men’s team, as the men’s squad will host Mercer at 8 p.m. Thursday’s home opener will air live on ESPN+ and live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter Thursday’s home opener with a 1-0-0 record after defeating FAU by a score of 5-1 in Boca Raton last Thursday. Four different Knights found the back of the net in the opener, led by a brace from senior forward Chloe Netzel.
In her first collegiate match, freshman Edidiong Etim tapped in a goal in the third minute to give the Black and Gold a quick 1-0 advantage. Senior Annika Huhta and Netzel both picked up assists on the play, as Huhta passed it ahead to Netzel, who found an open Etim in the center of the box for the tap-in goal.
Still 1-0 in the 39th minute, Caitlyn Matthews and Daniella Chung connected with Netzel via a one-touch pass on the left side for Netzel’s first goal of the season and give the Black and Gold a 2-0 lead. Following the intermission break, Netzel again found the back of the net in the 48th minute to make it 3-0. Emily Thompson and Honoka Hamano each picked up assists, as Thompson fed Hamano with a beautiful back-heel pass and Hamano then chipped a pass over the defense to Netzel for the goal. The brace marked Netzel’s first of her career.
UCF then pushed the lead to 4-0 in the 54th minute, as Hamano fed in a cross off a corner kick to an open Jessica McCullen on the far side of the box for the goal. The goal marked McCullen’s first of her career.
Following a FAU goal in the 61st minute, the Knights then capped the scoring when Hamano found the back of the net for the first time in a UCF uniform in the 63rd to make it 5-1. Hamano scored with the left foot on assists from Thompson and freshman Guta Franke.
Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Netzel led the Knights in the contest with two goals and an assist for five total points, while Hamano had a goal and two assists in her debut match for the Black and Gold. Thompson too had a strong opening match for UCF with a pair of assists. In all, all three Preseason All-Big 12 recipients for the Knights drove home goals in Netzel, Etim and McCullen.
In her first collegiate start, freshman keeper Sami Lipcon had a solid performance in goal by recording four saves and allowing just one goal over the full 90 minutes of action.
UCF’s five goals in the contest marked the most since Oct. 24, 2021, when the Knights defeated Temple by a score of 5-0. Last week’s season-opening win also marked the Black and Gold’s fifth consecutive Opening Knight victory.
UCF Leaders
After leading UCF in goals (7), points (17), and game-winning goals (4) in 2023, Netzel again paces the Knights in all three categories in 2024 as she’ll enter Thursday with team-leading tallies of two goals, five points, and one game-winning goal. Hamano and Thompson are tied for the team-lead in assists with two apiece, while freshman keeper Lipcon leads the way in saves (4) and minutes played (90).
HOME OPENERS UNDER ROBERTS SAHAYDAK
The Black and Gold will enter Thursday’s match with an 8-3 record under head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak in home openers. UCF has won four straight home openers and seven of its last eight. The Knights have also outscored their opponents by an impressive tally of 22-7 during the stretch.
ABOUT UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley, who calls the Western Athletic Conference home, will come to Orlando with a 2-0-0 record after picking up road wins at Michigan and Detroit Mercy last week. UVU first defeated Michigan, 2-1, on Thursday, before scoring five times en route to a 5-2 win over Detroit Mercy on Sunday. The Wolverines, who are currently receiving votes for this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, were once again picked to win the WAC this season after claiming their second straight WAC regular-season title last season with a 10-4-5 overall record and an unbeaten 7-0-2 conference clip. UVU has made the NCAA Tournament in two of the past four seasons (2022 and 2020-21).
Senior forward Faith Webber leads the way for the Wolverines with three early-season goals. Webber, who was tabbed the WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, is a two-time All-Pacific Region and a two-time First Team All-WAC honoree. She is also the reigning WAC Offensive Player of the Week and was named to this week's Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Ruby Hladek is next with a pair of goals and two assists. Hladek and Taylor Nelson are tied for the team lead in assists with two. CJ Graham leads the team in goal with six saves and a 2-0-0 record.
UVU is coached by Chris Lemay, who is in his eighth season at the helm in Orem.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UVU
Thursday’s match will mark just the second all-time meeting between UCF and UVU, and Utah Valley’s first-ever trip to Orlando. In the lone previous meeting, the Knights and Wolverines played to a scoreless 0-0 draw on Aug. 25, 2022, at Clyde Field in Orem.
UP NEXT
Following Thursday’s home opener, the Knights will hit the road to face their second of three in-state opponents in non-conference play in the Florida Gators on Sunday. UCF and UF will go head-to-head on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville. The contest will air live on SEC Network+.
T-minus 48 hours til the HOME OPENER ⚽ pic.twitter.com/oheiAvmdAP
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) August 20, 2024