ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team will close a five-match road swing with a Big 12 Conference contest at Colorado Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s matinee is set for a 2 p.m. ET/noon MT start at CU’s Prentup Field in Boulder. The match will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter Sunday with a 3-4-4 overall record and a 1-3-2 conference clip. After playing three straight road matches at Kansas, Kansas State and West Virginia, UCF was scheduled to host Arizona on Thursday. The match was moved to a neutral site due to Hurricane Milton, however, and contested at Houston’s Carl Lewis International Complex. Despite overcoming a two-goal second-half deficit, the Black and Gold ended up dropping a hard-fought 3-2 battle to the Wildcats.
Trailing 2-0 against Arizona at the intermission, UCF came out as the aggressors in the second half. The Knights quickly cut the deficit in half thanks to a goal from Honoka Hamano in the 47th minute to make it 2-1. The Black and Gold later evened the score in the 62nd minute, as leading scorer Chloe Netzel found the back of the net to tie things up a 2-2. The goal marked Netzel’s ninth of the season. Maria Tregansin was credited an assist on both goals for the first two-assist game of her career.
The Black and Gold continued on the attack, as Mia Asenjo and Annika Huhta took shots over the next couple of minutes but they both went off target. Netzel had another good chance in the 74th minute but the shot was saved by Arizona’s Olivia Ramey.
The Wildcats were later awarded a penalty kick in the 81st minute, as UCF’s Kyleigh Thelen was whistled for a foul in the box. Arizona’s Gianna Christiansen managed to convert the PK for her second goal of the game to give UA a late 3-2 advantage.
The Knights got off a pair of late shots on goal from Asenjo and Netzel in the closing minute and a half, but UA’s Ramey managed to make the save on each attempt to help the Wildcats hold on for the victory.
NETZEL’S HOT START
Senior Chloe Netzel will look to continue her stellar start to the season. Netzel leads the Knights in goals (9), points (19), game-winning goals (2), shots (52), and shots on goal (32). She has also recorded a trio of braces on the season. She also registered a team-leading seven shots and five shots on goal against Arizona. Her nine goals have her tied for sixth most goals in the country. Nationally, Netzel also leads the country in shots on goal per game (3.20), is fifth in shots per game (5.20), seventh in goals per game (0.90), and 14th in points per game average (1.90). Sophomore Honoka Hamano leads the Knights in assists with four and ranks 59th in the nation in assists per game (0.44).
Sunday’s game will mark UCF’s final road match of the 2024 campaign.
ABOUT COLORADO
The Buffaloes will enter Sunday with a 10-2-2 overall record and in fourth place in the Big 12 standings with a 4-1-2 league clip. CU is currently receiving votes for the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. Colorado has been ranked as high as 14th nationally this season (Oct. 1 poll). CU won nine of its first 10 matches of the season but has since gone 1-1-2 over its last four games. The Buffaloes were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Preseason poll this year after going 13-5-3 overall and 5-3-3 in the Pac-12 a year ago. CU capped its 2023 campaign with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Shyra James fronts Colorado with six goals while Hope Leyba is right behind her with five. Ava Priest leads the way in assists with four and Jordan Nytes is the team’s leader in goal with 60 saves.
The Buffaloes are coached by Danny Sanchez. Sanchez is in his 13th season as the head man in Boulder.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. COLORADO
Sunday’s contest will mark the first all-time meeting between the Knights and Buffaloes.
FRANKE AND PEREZ WATSON TOOK PART AT 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 match, the Knights will return home to open a three-match homestand. UCF will open the stretch by hosting No. 12 TCU on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. The Black and Gold will also host Oklahoma State (Oct. 20) and Cincinnati (Oct. 25) during the three-game home stretch.