ORLANDO – Unbeaten in its last four games, the UCF women’s soccer team will continue a current three-match road stretch at Oklahoma State on Thursday night.
The Big 12 contest will begin at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT from OSU’s Neal Patterson Stadium. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com. The game will mark the first of two on the week away from home, as the Black and Gold will cap the trip at Houston on Sunday.
The Knights will enter play with an 8-2-3 overall record and in a tie for sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a 2-1-3 mark. The top eight teams in the Big 12 standings will qualify for the 2025 Big 12 Tournament presented by Allstate. After defeating both No. 17 Arizona State (3-2) and Utah (2-0), UCF has since recorded back-to-back 0-0 draws against Kansas State and Cincinnati.
In the Black and Gold’s most recent contest at Cincinnati last Sunday, goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson notched her sixth clean sheet of the season en route to leading UCF to the 0-0 tie. Perez Watson saved all four shots that were sent her way by the Bearcats in the game.
The UCF defense also had a strong performance by limiting the Bearcats to just eight total shots with four of those coming on goal.
Offensively, Liz Worden lead the Black and Gold with four shots and Rajanah Reed followed right behind her with three. Reed had one of the Knights’ best chances to score in the 34th minute but her shot from the left side was just saved. Gabi Berchon and Hannah Boughton also both had good looks in the second half, but their attempts were too saved.
In all, UCF outshot Cincinnati 12-8 and 5-4 on goal, and also dominated the time of possession battle at 61-39%.
SEASON LEADERS
Liz Worden’s fourth goal of the season late in the first half against Utah brought her even with Rajanah Reed for top scorer on the team. Honoka Hamano’s converted penalty kick in the same match brings her to three goals on the year to tie with Gabi Berchon. Ainsley Moy follows not far behind with two, and Tyra Eriksen, Ella Holloran, and Edidiong Etim have one goal apiece. Worden also tops the assist charts with five, and the points charts with 13. Reed continues to lead the shots and shots on goal tallies, with 37 and 16, respectively.
With her sixth clean sheet of the season from her four saves on Sunday, goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson now totals 45 saves and an impressive .849 save percentage. She has also played all 1170 minutes of the season for UCF.
UNBEATEN IN FOUR STRAIGHT
The Knights will enter the week unbeaten in their last four games. UCF’s last loss came on Sept. 25 at Arizona. Over the course of the last four contests, the Black and Gold recorded back-to-back victories over No. 17 Arizona State (3-2) and Utah (2-0) before picking up consecutive 0-0 draws versus Kansas State and Cincinnati.
In all, UCF holds just two losses on the year as it previously suffered a 1-0 setback to in-state foe FIU on Sept. 4. With an 8-2-3 overall record, the Knights enter the week rated 29th nationally in the latest RPI and are tied for sixth in the Big 12 standings with a 2-1-3 clip.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls will enter Thursday with a 4-8-2 overall record and in 16th in the conference standings with 0-5-1 mark. Oklahoma State has dropped four straight league contests after suffering defeats to Arizona, Texas Tech, BYU and Kansas State. Prior to that, OSU notched a 0-0 draw at Arizona State on Sept. 25. The Cowgirls were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 this year after taking fifth in the conference last year with a 6-3-2 league record. OK State had its 2024 campaign come to a close in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arkansas.
Xcaret Pineda paces the Cowgirls in scoring with five goals on the season. She also leads in points with 11, shots with 26, and earned first team all-conference honors a season ago. Sonora De Fini is right behind her with four goals and fronts the squad in shots on goal with 10. Taryn Thibeau leads in assists with four, while Logan Marks has started all 14 games in goal and leads the Big 12 in saves with 68.
Oklahoma State is coached by Colin Carmichael. Carmichael is in his 21st year as OSU’s head coach and holds a 269-118-55 mark in Stillwater. He is a six-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year and has led the Cowgirls to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
SERIES HISTORY VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
Thursday's match will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Knights and Cowgirls. UCF and OSU are currently tied at 2-2-0 over the previous four meetings. The Black and Gold claimed the first two meetings in 2015 and 2016, but Oklahoma State has responded by defeating UCF in each of the past two seasons as conference foes.
GENESIS PEREZ WATSON’S STELLAR START
UCF goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson has had an impressive season so far, commanding a back line that has only conceded eight goals, or 0.62 per game. Perez Watson’s six clean sheets bests her two from 2024, and she has set career highs in save percentage (.849) and goals against average (.615). Her 45 total saves see her in fifth place in the Big 12 Conference standings.
After recording a pair of clean sheets against Utah and Kansas State recently, Perez Watson also took home Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week and Big 12 Conference Goalkeeper of the Week honors.
12' | Genesis is there for the save 🧤
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 12, 2025
UCF 0, UC 0 pic.twitter.com/gUUaumDTvO
SILVEST AND ERIKSEN RANKED IN TOP DRAWER SOCCER MIDSEASON TOP 100
Redshirt sophomore defender Jada Silvest has been included in Top Drawer Soccer’s Women’s Midseason Top 100 Players list, taking the 80th spot, while freshman forward Tyra Eriksen was included as No. 58 on Top Drawer Soccer’s Midseason Top Freshmen.
Silvest has been an instrumental player for the Black and Gold this season, playing 90 minutes in all but two contests, in which she featured for at least 80 minutes in both. Silvest has been a key contributor to the Knights’ six clean sheets in 2025, and she also recorded a long-ball assist to Liz Worden in a 3-1 victory against Florida Atlantic.
Eriksen, a true freshman from Sweden, has had a strong season for the Knights in which she has scored one goal and also recording a pair of assists so far during her debut season at the college level. She has tallied a total of 13 shots with four shots coming on target on the year. The striker has played in all 13 matches with nine starts for the Black and Gold.
BEST START AT THE D1 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 19-8 on the season and after scoring the Knights’ second goal in the victory against Utah two weeks ago, Liz Worden is tied with Rajanah Reed with four goals on the season. Gabi Berchon and Honoka Hamano are right behind with three, and Worden continues to front the team in assists (5) and points (13). Reed leads the way with shots (37) and shots on goal (16).
4-1 AGAINST SUNSHINE STATE FOES
The Knights capped non-conference play with a solid 4-1-0 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 on Sept. 4, but responded with a 2-0 victory at North Florida in the Black and Gold's non-conference finale on Sept. 11.
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 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 play their third and final game of a current three-game road stretch at Houston Sunday afternoon. The match is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at UH’s Carl Lewis International Complex. Following the contest, UCF will return to the UCF Soccer Complex for its final two home games of the season on Oct. 23 vs. No. 10 Baylor and Oct. 27 against BYU.
This week’s matchups ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TBFzRdqPcJ
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 14, 2025
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.