ORLANDO – Due to Hurricane Milton, Thursday’s Big 12 Conference women’s soccer match between UCF and Arizona has been moved to Houston, Texas, and will be contested at UH’s Carl Lewis International Complex.
The now neutral-site contest will begin at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will mark the first meeting between UCF and Arizona as conference foes. Live stats will be available for the match by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com. The match was originally scheduled to be played at the UCF Soccer Complex but was moved due to the approaching hurricane.
The Knights will enter Thursday with a 3-3-4 overall record and a 1-2-2 Big 12 clip. After going 0-1-1 at Kansas and Kansas State the previous week, the Black and Gold dropped a hard fought 1-0 decision at West Virginia last Friday. Last Friday’s match marked UCF’s third straight contest away from home.
With the Knights and Mountaineers scoreless early in the second half, WVU managed to strike first with what proved to be the game winner in the 55th minute. After a flurry of shots, West Virginia was awarded a penalty kick. UCF keeper Sami Lipcon made a great read and stopped Lilly McCarthy’s PK attempt, but the rebound came right back to McCarthy and she was able to find the back of the net to give WVU the lead.
The Knights had a couple of chances from there, as Edidiong Etim had a good look in the 67th minute and Chloe Netzel got off a pair of headers down the stretch, but WVU managed to hold on for the victory.
Despite suffering the setback, Black and Gold keeper Lipcon finished with a game-high six saves against the first-place Mountaineers.
Thursday’s match was moved to Houston as Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the Orlando area on Thursday morning. Arizona is set to play at Houston Sunday and the Knights are scheduled to play at Colorado Sunday, so the teams agreed to play Thursday’s match at Houston.
NETZEL’S HOT START
Senior Chole 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 (45), and shots on goal (27). She has also recorded a trio of braces on the season. In her last match against West Virginia, she registered a team-leading four shots. Her eight goals have her tied for sixth most goals in the country. Nationally, Netzel is also tied for the nation’s lead in shots on goal per game (3.00), is also fifth in shots per game (5.00), seventh in goals per game average (0.89), and 13th in points per game average (1.89). Sophomore Honoka Hamano leads the Knights in assists with four and ranks 22nd in the nation in assists per game (0.50).
ABOUT ARIZONA
The Wildcats will enter Thursday with an 8-3-2 overall record and in fifth in the league standings with a 3-2-1 Big 12 mark. Arizona defeated BYU 2-1 at home last weekend and previously defeated Cincinnati 2-0 and drew with West Virginia 1-1 the week prior. UA also holds a Big 12 win over Baylor. The Wildcats were picked to finish 10th in its first season of competition in the Big 12 this year after going 6-8-5 overall and 3-3-3 in Pac-12 play last year.
Offensively, Arizona is led by Nicole Dallin. The Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Dallin has six goals on the season and also leads the squad in shots (31), shots on goal (15), and points (14). Gianna Christiansen is next with five goals and five players are tied in assists with two assists apiece. Olivia Ramey fronts the team in goal with 40 saves.
Arizona is coached by Becca Moros. Moros is in her fourth year of coaching in Tucson.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ARIZONA
Thursday’s game will mark the third all-time meeting between the Knights and Wildcats. UCF will enter play holding to a 1-0-1 series advantage. After playing to a 1-1 draw in Tucson in 2010, the Black and Gold recorded a 2-1 victory over Arizona in Tempe in 2017.
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
The Knights will conclude the trip with a Sunday afternoon matinee at Colorado. The match is set for a 2 p.m. ET/noon MT start at CU’s Prentup Field in Boulder.