TEMPE, Ariz. – Liz Worden, Gabi Berchon and Rajanah Reed all found the back of the net and UCF managed to hold its lead down the stretch to defeat No. 17 Arizona State in Big 12 Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
The Knights upped their record to 7-2-1 and 1-1-1 in Big 12 play with the victory, while the setback marked ASU’s first of the season as it dropped to 8-1-2 overall and 1-1-1 in league play.
“It was a gutsy team win, coming off a tough loss. Grabbing three points on the road was massive for us. It took the entire group stepping up and staying connected from start to finish,” head UCF coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said.
With the game scoreless in the 20th minute, UCF midfielder Honoka Hamano pushed the ball ahead to Worden and the senior forward turned and fired a strike from outside the 18 and into the top left corner of the goal to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead. The goal marked Worden’s third of the year.
20' | Liz Worden with the deep strike to give us the early lead 🤩
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 28, 2025
UCF 1, ASU 0 pic.twitter.com/NM59ApCmLg
The Knight defense limited the Sun Devils to just four shots in the first 45 minutes and UCF keeper Genesis Perez Watson stopped ASU’s lone shot on goal in the half.
The Sun Devils evened the score in the 52nd minute, as Tatam Thomason crossed a ball into the box and Lucy Fazackerley was there to head it home to tie things up at 1-1.
Just two minutes later, ASU committed a foul just outside the box on the left side and Gabi Berchon drilled a shot into the back of the net off a free kick to help the Knights regain the lead. The goal also marked Berchon’s third of the year to tie with Worden for the second-most on the team.
54' | Gabi Berchon drills one into the back of the net off a free kick 😤
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 28, 2025
UCF 2, ASU 1 pic.twitter.com/6xOK0muh09
With UCF holding to the 2-1 advantage, Worden crossed a ball from the right corner into the center of the box in the 70th minute and Reed headed it past ASU’s keeper to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 3-1. The goal marked Reed’s team-leading fourth of the year and came in her home state, as she hails from nearby Glendale, Arizona.
70' | Worden finds Reed for the goal 🙂↕️
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) September 28, 2025
UCF 3, ASU 1 pic.twitter.com/GNU6NcjAc2
Arizona State wouldn’t go away, however, as Thomason scored off a rebounded shot in the 77th minute to make it a 3-2 score.
ASU looked to even the score down the stretch by getting off a handful of shots, but Perez Watson and the UCF defense were able to help the Knights hold onto their lead to come away with the victory.
Perez Watson finished with a match-high three saves to move to 7-2-1 in goal on the year. Reed led all players with four shots in the contest.
The victory over ASU marked UCF’s first win over a ranked opponent since the Black and Gold blanked No. 24/8 Georgia on Sept. 1 a season ago at the UCF Soccer Complex. It also marked the Knights’ first win over a ranked conference opponent since Oct. 31, 2019, when they defeated No. 24 South Florida.
The trip marked UCF’s third time visiting the Grand Canyon State in program history and just the second visit to the Sun Devil Soccer Complex.
The Knights will now return to the Sunshine State for a pair of home matches. UCF will first host the Utah Utes on Thursday at 7 p.m. before closing the week with a Sunday match against Kansas State that afternoon at 1 p.m. Sunday’s contest will mark the Black and Gold’s annual Alumni Game.