ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team will welcome No. 24 Georgia to town on Sunday night at the UCF Soccer Complex. The contest is set to begin at 6 p.m. and will mark Senior Knight, as six Black and Gold seniors will be honored prior to the match.
Sunday’s contest will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
UCF will enter Sunday unbeaten on the season, as it holds a 1-0-2 record. After opening with a 5-1 victory at Florida Atlantic, the Knights have recorded back-to-back draws. The Black and Gold first drew with Utah Valley in the home opener, 1-1, and followed that up with a 2-2 result at Florida last Sunday.
In Sunday’s 2-2 draw at UF, senior Chloe Netzel continued her stellar start to the season by scoring both goals for her second brace of the young season. Netzel first gave the Knights an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the 17th minute. The senior scored on an assist from Emily Thompson with a left-footed strike.
With the game later tied at 1-1 in the second half, Netzel again found the back of the net in the 60th minute to give UCF a 2-1 advantage at the time. Mia Asenjo was credited an assist on the play as she fed Netzel on the left side of the box.
The Gators would manage to battle back, however, with the equalizer in the 70th minute to lead to the draw.
NETZEL’S HOT START
With the two more goals, Netzel has now scored in all three of UCF’s matches on the season and entered the week tied atop the nation in goals scored with five. She will enter Sunday currently tied for third in the nation in total goals. She is also ranked second nationally in goals per game (1.67), points per game (3.67), as well as seventh in total points (11). With three assists in the season, her teammate Thompson enters Sunday ranked third nationally in assists per game with a 1.0 assists per game average.
TEAM LEADERS
Netzel currently leads the Knights on the year in goals (5), points (11), shots (15), shots on goal (8), and game-winning goals (1). Thompson paces the squad in assists with three, while freshman keeper Sami Lipcon leads in saves with 13.
SENIOR KNIGHT
A total of six UCF seniors will be honored prior to Sunday’s match in midfielder Annika Huhta, defender Taylor Jacobson, midfielder Caitlyn Matthews, forward Chloe Netzel, goalkeeper Lizah Pistorio, and defender Kyleigh Thelen. The seniors have had stellar careers and are off to strong starts this season. Netzel has netted five goals with two braces in three games. Matthews and Huhta each recorded an assist in the season opener at FAU. Jacobson has started all three matches as part of UCF's back line, being a key contributor to the Black and Gold's unbeaten record. Thelen had a strong performance in UCF’s opener, while Pistorio was recently cleared for action after overcoming an injury.
ABOUT GEORGIA
The Bulldogs will come to Orlando with a 1-1-2 record. They are ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 8 in this week’s Top Drawer Soccer poll. Georgia’s lone win came on Aug. 25 when they defeated Kennesaw State 6-0. They recorded a 1-1 draw in their last game against the top-ranked ranked Florida State Seminoles on Thursday.
Georgia went 13-4-6 last season and 4-3-3 in conference play to finish fifth in the league standings. They ended their season by winning that year’s SEC Tournament and making it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the 2024 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Summer Denigan and Margie Detrizio lead the Bulldogs in goals with three. Nicole Vernis’ two assists are the most on the team. Denigan, Detrizio, Vernis, Jordan Brown, Amber Nguyen, Dasia Torbet and Hannah White all earned SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist honors prior to the season.
Georgia is led by head coach Keidane McAlpine, who has been coaching the Bulldogs since 2022.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. GEORGIA
Sunday’s match will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Knights and the Bulldogs. UCF has a 2-4-0 record against Georgia but a 2-1-0 clip in Orlando. The last meeting between these two teams came last season. The Knights fell 2-1 in a hard-fought matchup in Athens.
GUTA FRANKE AND GENESIS PEREZ WATSON TO TAKE PART AT 2024 FIFA U20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
UCF has a pair of players that will represent their home nations at the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup that will be held in Colombia. Freshman defender Guta Franke has been named a member of Brazil’s 2024 U20 squad, while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson will play for Costa Rica. The 2024 U20 Women’s World Cup will get underway on Saturday, Aug. 31 and will go through Sunday, Sept. 22. Franke and Brazil’s first match is set for Saturday, Aug. 31 against Fiji in Medellin, Colombia, while Perez Watson and Costa Rica will get underway on Monday, Sept. 2 against the Netherlands in Cali, Colombia.
UP NEXT
Following Sunday’s match, UCF will head to Tampa for its non-conference finale at South Florida on Thursday, Sept. 5. The contest is set for a 7 p.m. start at Corbett Soccer Stadium. Following the USF match, the Black and Gold will begin its second season of Big 12 Conference competition when Houston visits the UCF Soccer Complex on Sept. 12.
Join us on Sunday for Senior Knight against #24 Georgia ⚽ pic.twitter.com/HUEO6nHKh4
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) August 30, 2024