ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team returns home to face Big 12 newcomer Arizona State on Sunday at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The Big 12 Conference match is set for a noon ET start. The contest will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights, who are currently receiving votes for the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, will enter the match with a 3-1-2 overall record and a 1-0-0 Big 12 Conference clip. After earning a decisive 5-0 shutout victory over Houston in the conference opener last week, the Black and Gold had their match at Iowa State on Thursday night end in a no contest.
With Thursday’s match in Ames scoreless, UCF and ISU were able to play into the 67th minute before action was halted due to lightning in the area. After a two-plus hour delay, the contest was officially ruled a no contest due to weather.
In last Thursday’s conference opener against Houston, senior Chloe Netzel led the way for the Black and Gold by recording her third brace of the season to give her a team-leading eight goals on the year. Netzel started the scoring in the eighth minute by converting on a penalty kick to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead. She later capped the scoring with her second goal of the contest in the 71st minute as she struck the ball hard enough from the top of the 18 to still score off a deflection.
Taylor Jacobson, Edidiong Etim and Mia Asenjo all also found the back of the net against the Cougars. The senior defender Jacobson scored her first career goal in the 22nd minute, as Annika Huhta played a corner kick into the box and Jacobson was there to drill it home. In the 37th minute, Kyleigh Thelen fed a cross into the box off a free kick and the freshman Etim was able to head it home for her second goal of the year. In the 65th minute, Etim later raced a ball down the right side and crossed it into the center of the box to a streaking Asenjo who was there to tap it home for her first goal of the year.
Sami Lipcon and Genesis Perez Watson combined for the clean sheet in goal for the Knights, as the two played a half apiece and Perez Watson stopped a pair of shots on frame in the second half.
The shutout marked UCF’s second of the season and its fourth in the Big 12 era, as the Black and Gold managed to record a trio of clean sheets in conference play last season.
NETZEL’S HOT START
The senior Netzel leads the Knights in goals (8), points (17), game-winning goals (2), shots (30), and shots on goal (19). She has also recorded a trio of braces on the season and has scored in five of UCF’s six games. Netzel will enter Sunday as the nation’s leader in goals per game with an impressive average of 1.33. She also ranks second nationally in shots on goal per game (3.17), as well as fourth in points per game (2.83), seventh in shots per game (5.0), seventh in total goals (8), and 14th in total points (17). Huhta and Emily Thompson pace the team in assists with three apiece, while the freshman Lipcon leads the way in goal with 27 saves.
JACOBSON TABBED BIG 12 CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior defender Taylor Jacobson was named the Big 12 Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after helping UCF record the 5-0 shutout over Houston in last week’s conference opener. Besides being key in limiting UH to just two shots on goal in the contest, Jacobson also scored her first collegiate goal in the match as she found the back of the net in the 22nd minute off a corner kick. The conference honor marks the first of Jacobson's career and UCF’s second of the season, as Jada Silvest previously earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 4.
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
The Sun Devils will come to Orlando with a 6-1-2 overall record and a 1-1-0 Big 12 clip. After opening its inaugural season of Big 12 play with a 1-0 setback at BYU last week, ASU pulled out a 2-0 victory at Houston on Thursday for its first-ever Big 12 win. The loss at BYU marked Arizona State’s first of the season, as they were unbeaten through their first seven games.
ASU went 10-7-4 last season and 5-5-1 in conference play to finish sixth in the Pac-12 standings. The Sun Devils ended their season by falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team was picked to finish fifth in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Kierra Blundell leads the Sun Devils in goals with seven. She also leads the team in assists, alongside Enasia Colon, Cameron Valladeres and Megan Sofield, with three on the season. Colon, Lucy Johnson and Pauline Nelles were named to the Big 12 Soccer Preseason Team prior to the season.
Arizona State is led by eighth-year head coach Graham Winkworth.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ARIZONA STATE
Sunday’s match will be the fifth meeting between the Knights and the Sun Devils. UCF holds a 3-1-0 lead in the all-time series. The Black and Gold has bested Arizona State in three consecutive matches. The last meeting between these two teams came during the 2019 season. The Knights picked up a convincing 4-1 win at home.
FRANKE AND PEREZ WATSON RECENTLY RETURNED FROM 2024 FIFA U20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
UCF had a pair of players represent their home nations at the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup that ran Aug. 31-Sept. 22 in Colombia. Freshman defender Guta Franke played for her home country of Brazil, while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson participated for Costa Rica. Franke started all five games for Brazil and helped her home nation go 4-1 and advance to the quarterfinal round, while Perez Watson started all three matches in goal and was a captain for Costa Rica.
UP NEXT FOR UCF
Following Sunday’s action, UCF will return to the road to take on Kansas on Thursday (Sept. 26) and Kansas State on Sunday (Sept. 29). The Knights will then cap a three-match road swing at West Virginia on Friday, Oct. 4.
Back home to host ASU on Sunday ☺️
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 20, 2024
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