Women’s Soccer to Conclude Trip Sunday at HoustonWomen’s Soccer to Conclude Trip Sunday at Houston

Women’s Soccer to Conclude Trip Sunday at Houston

by James Warnick

HOUSTON – Fresh off a 2-1 victory at Oklahoma State on Thursday, the UCF women’s soccer team will conclude a three-match road stretch at Houston on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday’s matinee is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT and will take place at UH’s Carl Lewis International Complex. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.

The Knights will enter the contest unbeaten in their last five matches and in sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a 9-2-3 record and 3-1-3 conference clip. The top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the 2025 Big 12 Soccer Tournament presented by Allstate that will be held Nov. 3-8 at TCU and Baylor.

The Black and Gold most recently defeated Oklahoma State by a score of 2-1 on Thursday night in Stillwater. Liz Worden and Rajanah Reed each found the back of the net and the UCF defense managed to hold on to the lead down the stretch to pull out the victory.

With the Knights’ having put up six shots on goal in the early stages of the match, Worden managed to break through by netting the game’s first goal in the 31st minute. Ainsley Moy fed a pass ahead to the UCF senior and Worden was able to fire a left-footed strike from distance past OSU’s keeper for her team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The Black and Gold continued on the attack in the second half and extended their lead to 2-0 in the 59th minute when Reed slotted one home. Jada Silvest and Worden were credited with assists on the play, as they found Reed on the left wing and she was able to beat the defense for the goal. Reed’s goal tied her with Worden for the team lead with five.

The Cowgirls got a goal back off a corner kick in the 66th minute to cut the deficit in half, but the UCF defense would limit OSU to just two more shots the rest of the way to hold on for the victory.

UCF outshot the Cowgirls 15-7 in the game and 9-1 on goal. Worden led the Knights with a goal, an assist, five shots, and three shots on frame. Reed was right behind her with a goal, four shots, and a trio of shots on goal.

With the victory, UCF is 3-0-2 over its last five games.

SEASON LEADERS
Rajanah Reed’s fifth goal of the season in the second half against Oklahoma State brought her even with Liz Worden for top scorer on the team. Honoka Hamano’s converted penalty kick in the Utah match brought 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 six, and the points charts with 16. Reed continues to lead the shots and shots on goal tallies, with 42 and 22, respectively.

With her sixth clean sheet of the season from her four saves last Sunday at Cincinnati, goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson now totals 45 saves and an impressive .833 save percentage. She has also played all 1260 minutes of the season for UCF.

UNBEATEN IN FIVE STRAIGHT
The Knights will enter the week unbeaten in their last five games. UCF’s last loss came on Sept. 25 at Arizona. Over the course of the last five 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 and pulling out a 2-1 win at Oklahoma State on Thursday.

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 a 9-2-3 overall record, the Knights enter the weekend rated 32nd nationally in the latest RPI and are in sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a 3-1-3 clip.

ABOUT HOUSTON
The Cougars will enter Sunday with a 7-3-4 overall record and tied for ninth in the league standings with a 2-3-2 mark. UH defeated Iowa State 2-1 in Ames on Thursday night. It also holds a conference victory over Cincinnati as well as draws against BYU and Texas Tech. Houston went unbeaten through non-conference play, as it entered Big 12 play with a 5-0-2 clip. The Cougars were picked to finish 15th in the conference this year after taking in 15th a season ago with a 1-10 league record.  

Houston is currently second in the Big 12 in scoring with a 2.286 goals per game average as well as second goals scored with 32. A total of 15 different players have scored goals on the year for the Cougars. Samira Minor leads the way with five goals on the season. She also tops the team with 13 points and is tied for the team lead in assists with three. Adelhia Ghonda is next with four goals and paces the squad in total shots with 31. Lexi Gonzalez and Maggie Manning have split time in goal this season for UH. Gonzalez will enter Sunday with a team-best 17 saves and an .810 save percentage.

UH is coached by first-year head coach Ben Williams. Williams spent the 2024 season as the head man at Stephen F. Austin where he led the Ladyjacks to the Southland Conference title.

SERIES HISTORY VS. HOUSTON
Sunday's match will mark the 22nd all-time meeting between the Knights and Cougars. UCF will enter play holding to a commanding 18-2-1 series advantage. The Black and Gold have won three straight meetings and hold a 9-1-1 advantage in Houston. In the last meeting, UCF recorded a 5-0 victory over the Cougars last season in Orlando.

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 nine goals, or 0.64 per game. Perez Watson’s six clean sheets bests her two from 2024, and she has set career highs in save percentage (.833) and goals against average (.643). Her 45 total saves see her in sixth 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.

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 pair of assists on the season.

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 14 matches with 10 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 21-9 on the season and after both scoring for the Knights’ in their victory over Oklahoma State, Liz Worden and Rajanah Reed are tied with five goals on the season. Gabi Berchon and Honoka Hamano are right behind with three, and Worden continues to front the team in assists (6) and points (16). Reed leads the way with shots (42) and shots on goal (22).

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 next return to the UCF Soccer Complex for their final two home games of the 2025 season. The Black and Gold will first welcome No. 10/7 Baylor to town for Senior Knight on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., before hosting BYU on Monday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. UCF will then close its regular season at No. 12/4 Texas Tech on Thursday, Oct. 30.