Berchon’s Late Heroics Propel Women’s Soccer to 2-1 Victory over LSUBerchon’s Late Heroics Propel Women’s Soccer to 2-1 Victory over LSU

Berchon’s Late Heroics Propel Women’s Soccer to 2-1 Victory over LSU

by James Warnick
Box Score

ORLANDO – Gabi Berchon scored the game-winning goal with 11 seconds remaining to propel UCF women’s soccer to a 2-1 victory over LSU on Sunday night at the UCF Soccer Complex.

With the redshirt freshman Berchon having netted her first career goal in the opening half and the score all knotted up at 1-1 in the closing seconds, the Knights pushed the ball down the field to Rajanah Reed. Reed then fed a cross into the box and Berchon took the shot from the center of the box with 17 seconds to go but LSU’s keeper was there to make the save. The ball then bounced over to Tyra Eriksen and she got off another shot that was again saved, but the ball deflected to Berchon right in front of the goal and she was able to tap it home for the dramatic game winner.

The Knights moved to 4-0-0 with the win, while the Tigers—who have made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances—dropped to 2-2-0 with the setback. The 4-0 start marks UCF’s best start to a season since 2002 and is just the third time in program history that the Black and Gold have started a season with a perfect 4-0 record.

“What a performance from Gabi. She’s had a long road ahead of her coming back from an ACL injury, and to have her come out and have this kind of impact on our team, is just incredible,” head UCF coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said.

“It was good to see the team create chances there at the end. We didn’t stop, and the team was super resilient, and really believed that we were going to score a goal at the end. And we did.”

The Knights didn’t waste any time getting things going, as Honoka Hamano fed a ball over the top downfield to Berchon and the Brazilian chipped it over LSU’s keeper and into the back of the net to give UCF an early 1-0 advantage. Berchon’s goal marked the first of her career and came in the fifth minute.

With UCF goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson having made a handful of impressive saves, the Tigers managed to tie things up in the 65th minute, as Jazmin Ferguson scored on an assist from Ida Hermannsdottir to deadlock the score at 1-1.

The Knights then again went on the attack over the final 25 minutes of the game. Rajanah Reed got off a couple of good looks and Eriksen also had another down the stretch to set up Berchon’s game-winner in the closing seconds. Berchon’s second goal of the game gave the midfielder her first collegiate brace.

“We are a team that doesn’t give up,” Berchon said. “We kept fighting and everyone worked so hard until the end. I’m so grateful for this team. It was a beautiful performance. What a night.”

Reed paced the Black and Gold on the evening with five shots while Berchon followed with four, with three of those coming on frame.

Perez Watson moved to 4-0-0 in goal for the Knights by recording a season-high five saves.

The contest concluded a three-match homestand for the Knights.

UCF will now hit the road for a Thursday night match at in-state foe Florida. The game is set for 7 p.m. at Dizney Stadium in Gainesville and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

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