IRVING, Texas – UCF senior defender Taylor Jacobson has been named the Big 12 Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week after helping lead the Knights to a 5-0 shutout victory over Houston in their conference opener last week.
In last week’s decisive win over the Cougars, Jacobson was a key component of the Black and Gold’s backline by helping limit Houston’s offense to just two shots on frame in the match. She also scored her first collegiate goal in the match, as she found the back of the net in the 22nd minute to give the Knights a 2-0 advantage at the time. Her teammate Annika Huhta fed a pass into the box off a corner kick and Jacobson was there to drill it home in the lower right corner for the goal. The shutout marked UCF’s second of the season and its fourth in its Big 12 Conference era, as the Knights recorded a trio of clean sheets in league play in their inaugural season of Big 12 competition last year.
Jacobson, who has played and started all six matches on the season for the Knights, becomes UCF’s second player to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades on the season as Jada Silvest previously earned the honor on Sept. 4.
Other winners of this week’s Big 12 weekly honors are BYU’s Avery Frischknect (Co-Defensive), Utah’s Taliana Kaufusi (Offensive), Colorado’s Jordan Nytes (Goalkeeper), and Kansas’ Jillian Gregorski (Freshman).
The Knights, who are currently receiving votes for this week’s United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, will continue Big 12 play with a pair of matches this week. UCF will first head to Iowa to face Iowa State on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, before returning to Orlando to welcome Arizona State to the UCF Soccer Complex on Sunday at noon ET.
Help your team record a 5-0 shutout in the conference opener ✅
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 18, 2024
Score your first collegiate goal ✅
Earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors ✅
Way to go, Taylor 👏