ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team will return to action on Thursday when the team travels to the University of Kansas to take on the Jayhawks.
The Big 12 Conference match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT at KU’s Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas. The game will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The 3-1-3 Knights are coming into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw at home against Arizona State this past Sunday. The draw kept the Black and Gold undefeated in conference play with a 1-0-1 record and currently has them sitting at fifth in the Big 12 Conference standings.
Sunday’s match saw senior Annika Huhta score her first goal of the season, which she did in the 22nd minute. Despite keeping the Arizona State defense on its toes, putting up 18 shots compared to eight Sun Devil shots, the Knights were unable to find the back of the net a second time to earn the win.
Genesis Perez Watson recorded three saves in the match to keep Arizona State from leaving Orlando with the win.
Prior to Sunday’s game against ASU, the Knights had their match at Iowa State end in a no contest last Thursday due to lightning. UCF and ISU were able to play into the 67th minute before lightning delayed the match. After a two-hour delay, the contest was called due to inclement weather.
NETZEL’S HOT START
Senior Chloe Netzel will look to continue her hot start to the season. Netzel leads the Knights in goals (8), points (17), game-winning goals (2), shots (38), and shots on goal (22). She has also recorded a trio of braces on the season. Against Arizona State, she recorded a team-leading eight shots. Her eight goals have her tied for the eighth most goals in the country. Nationally, Netzel also has the fourth best goals per game average (1.14), is the fourth most in the country, is second in shots on goal per game (3.14), is third in shots per game (5.43), and in 22nd for most points (17).
ABOUT KANSAS
Kansas currently has a record of 4-3-3 and is 13th in the Big 12 standings with a 1-2 conference record. KU split a pair of road conference matches last week by defeating Cincinnati, 1-0, before falling at West Virginia, 3-2. The Jayhawks went 4-8-5 last season and 1-7-2 in conference play to finish 13th in the Big 12. The team was picked to finish tied for 12th, alongside Cincinnati, in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Jillian Gregorski leads the Jayhawks in goals with five and points with 11. Caroline Castans and Lexi Watts are tied for the team lead in assists with three.
Kansas is led by first-year head coach Nate Lie.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. KANSAS
Thursday’s match will be the sixth meeting between the Knights and Jayhawks. Kansas currently leads the series 4-1. However, the Black and Gold bested the Jayhawks in their last match, which occurred last season. The Knights earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home in Big 12 Conference play.
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.
START OF A LONG ROAD TRIP
Thursday’s game isn’t the Knights’ first road trip of the season. It will, however, be the team’s first multi-game road trip. The match against Kansas is the first of three straight-away games. Following Thursday’s match, the team will remain in Kansas until Sunday, where they will take on Kansas State. Following that match, UCF will fly back to Orlando and stay there for a few days before getting back on a plane and traveling to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on Oct. 4.
UP NEXT FOR UCF
Following Thursday’s action, UCF will move on to face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
Opening the road trip at KU on Thursday❗ pic.twitter.com/PNvosXBD2c
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 24, 2024