TUCSON, Ariz. – A penalty kick proved to be the difference, as UCF women’s soccer dropped a 1-0 Big 12 Conference contest to Arizona on a windy and rainy Thursday night at Murphy Field at Mulcahy Stadium.
The Knights fell to 6-2-1 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play with the result, while the Wildcats moved to 6-4-0 on the season and 1-1-0 in league play with the victory.
With both sides battling and the game still scoreless late in the first half, Arizona’s Aurora Gaines found herself with an opportunity on the left side of the box. After a foul was called on the Black and Gold as Gaines fell to the turf, the UA forward was able to score what turned out to be the game winner on a penalty kick in the 43rd minute by ricocheting the ball off the post and into the back of the net.
Despite trailing after 45 minutes of play, UCF led the way in shots with a 5-4 advantage in the opening half.
The Black and Gold came out and looked determined to even the score early in the second half, as they controlled the possession battle for the first 15 minutes of the second stanza.
The Wildcats had a chance in the 63rd minute, however, as Narissa Fults got ahead of the defense and fired a shot towards the goal, but UCF keeper Genesis Perez Watson was there to make the save.
63' | Genesis with a big save 🧤
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 26, 2025
ARIZ 1, UCF 0 pic.twitter.com/4HW5LNKp1o
With Arizona holding to the 1-0 advantage and the clock approaching 10 minutes to play in the match, the Knights got off a couple of shots to make things interesting. Edidiong Etim had a deep shot from the right side sail just wide and Jessica McCullen followed with a shot from distance that went high in the 80th minute. The defender McCullen fired off another deep shot in the 85th minute but it was off the mark.
The Wildcats would go on to hold their lead over the final few minutes to claim the tightly contested conference contest.
Despite finishing on the wrong end of the score sheet, the UCF offense outshot the Wildcats 8-7 on the night. McCullen and Gabi Berchon led the way with a pair of shots apiece, while Gaines and Fults paced Arizona with two shots each of their own.
Perez Watson finished with a trio of saves in goal but fell to 6-2-1 with the result, while Arizona’s Olivia Ramey posted two saves and moved to 6-4-0 after helping her team come out on top.
The contest marked just UCF’s second trip to Tucson in program history and the first as conference opponents.
The Knights will continue the trip by heading to Tempe to face No. 17 Arizona State on Sunday. The Big 12 contest will begin at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. MST and will be streamed live on ESPN+.