ORLANDO – The UCF women’s soccer team will play its final non-conference game of the year on Thursday evening at North Florida. The match will mark the Black and Gold’s fifth and final contest against a Sunshine State opponent.
Thursday’s match will begin at 6 p.m. at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available by visiting UCFKnights.com.
The Knights will enter the contest with a 5-1-0 record on the season. UCF won its first five matches of the year before dropping a 1-0 contest to fellow in-state foe FIU at home in its most recent match last week.
In the 1-0 setback to FIU last Thursday, a goal from FIU’s Montelene Dymond in the eighth minute proved to be the difference in the contest. FIU’s Noa Olivia Ganthier intercepted a pass near midfield and fed a through ball ahead to her teammate Dymond on the play. Dymond beat the defense and chipped the ball into the back of the net on the far side of the goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
Still trailing by a goal late in the contest, UCF had a trio of chances from Liz Worden in the final 20 minutes. But all three just missed the mark, as FIU managed to hold the lead down the stretch.
Despite suffering the setback, the Knights outshot the Panthers 13 to 11 on the night. Worden led the way with four shots, while Rajanah Reed, Ainsley Moy and Jada Silvest all finished with two.
SEASON LEADERS
Senior forward Rajanah Reed fronts the Knights in scoring on the season with three goals. Liz Worden and Gabi Berchon are right behind her with a pair of goals apiece. Worden fronts the team in assists with four, as well as points (8), shots (20) and shots on goal (9). Goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson paces the team in goal with 20 saves and a 5-1-0 keeper record.
ABOUT NORTH FLORIDA
The Ospreys will enter Thursday with a 2-4-2 overall record and off a 3-1 loss at the College of Charleston last Sunday. Prior to Sunday’s setback, UNF recorded a 2-2 draw at Kennesaw State on Aug. 31 and a 3-2 victory over Georgia Southern at home last Thursday. North Florida also holds a win on the year over Howard (2-0). The Ospreys were picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season after going 9-4-7 overall and placing fifth in the ASUN with a 6-1-4 conference record in 2024.
Isabella Pontieri and Allison Souers lead UNF on the year with three goals apiece. Pontieri also fronts the team in assists (four), points (10), shots (27) and shots on goal (12). Audrey Johnson paces the Ospreys in goal with 16 saves and a 1-1-1 record. UNF midfielder Paige McSwigan and goalkeeper Sofia Miliancano were tabbed to the Preseason All-ASUN Team prior to the season.
North Florida is coached by Eric Faulconer. Faulconer is in his seventh season at the helm of UNF.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Thursday's match will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between the Knights and Ospreys. UCF will enter with a perfect 3-0-0 all-time series advantage. Thursday will mark the first all-time meeting between the in-state foes at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville. UCF won the last meeting, 2-1, on Aug. 27, 2023, in Orlando.
On the road to JAX 🔜 pic.twitter.com/iu86cIt5ss
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 9, 2025
BEST START AT THE DI LEVEL
The Knights began the 2025 season with an unblemished 5-0-0 start. The 5-0 record marked the Black and Gold’s best start to a season in program history at the NCAA Division I level and the best since the program's inaugural season of competition in 1981 when UCF opened a perfect 7-0.
UCF opened the year with a 2-1 victory on the road at UAB and followed it up with a trio of home wins over Florida Atlantic (3-1), South Florida (4-1) and LSU (2-1). The Knights then defeated their second straight SEC foe on Aug. 28 with a 1-0 shutout victory at Florida.
UCF has outscored the opposition 12-5 on the season and after scoring the game winner in the 87th minute at Florida on Aug. 28, Rajanah Reed leads the way with three goals. Liz Worden and Gabi Berchon are right behind her with a pair of goals apiece. Worden fronts the team in assists with four, as well as points (8), shots (20) and shots on goal (9).
Now at 5-1-0, the record marks the Knights' best start to a season since 2012. A win on Thursday would move the Black and Gold to 6-1-0, which would mark UCF's best start to a season since 2002.
3-1 ON THE YEAR AGAINST SUNSHINE STATE FOES
The Knights will enter Thursday’s contest with a solid 3-1-0 record against Sunshine State foes on the season.
The Black and Gold first pulled out back-to-back home wins over Florida Atlantic (3-1) and South Florida (4-1), before shutting out the Florida Gators on the road by a score of 1-0. UCF then suffered a 1-0 setback in its first loss of the season to FIU at home last Thursday.
Thursday's match at North Florida will mark the Black and Gold's fifth and final match of the season against an in-state opponent.
LATE GAME MAGIC
UCF has scored a pair of game-winning goals with the clock winding down against SEC foes on the season.
All deadlocked at 1-1 and less than 30 seconds to play against SEC foe LSU, the Knights found themself in a goal line scramble. Gabi Berchon took a 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 slot it home for the dramatic game winner with just 11 seconds on the clock.
Scoreless at Florida just days later and in the 87th minute, Guta Franke fed a deep pass over the top to Liz Worden. Worden then deflected it ahead to Rajanah Reed on the right side of the box and the senior forward was able to drill a late strike into the back of the net to propel UCF to another thrilling victory.
UP NEXT FOR UCF
The Knights will next host West Virginia for their 2025 Big 12 Conference opener on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The contest will open UCF’s third season of competition in the Big 12 and will mark the first of 11 league matches on the year for the Knights.
TICKETS
UCF women’s soccer season and single-game tickets are on sale now. Please visit ucfknights.com/tickets for more information or call the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.