HOUSTON – Honoka Hamano punched in a first-half goal to help lead UCF women’s soccer to a 1-1 draw over Houston on Sunday afternoon at UH’s Carl Lewis International Complex.
The Black and Gold are now unbeaten in their last six matches, as they moved to 9-2-4 overall and 3-1-4 in Big 12 play. The Cougars upped their record to 7-3-5 and 2-3-3 in league play following the result.
“It was a hard-fought, physical match against Houston. I’m proud of the resilience our group continues to show through each conference game. We keep finding ways to compete and earn points, and that says a lot about our team’s character,” head UCF coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said.
With Houston having gotten off a handful of shots in the early stages, the Knights were able to take advantage of a UH handball. After a shot from Liz Worden was blocked, the ball ricocheted back to her, and the senior forward was able to find Rajanah Reed on the left side who slotted the ball towards the goal. Hamano was there to punch it over the goal line to give the Black and Gold a 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute. The goal marked Hamano’s fourth of the season.
13' | Worden ➡️ Reed ➡️ Hamano❗
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 19, 2025
UCF 1, UH 0 pic.twitter.com/b463ApWG8d
In a physical first half that featured four total yellow cards and 10 combined fouls, the Cougars looked to have tied things up late in the half, but the flag was up, and the goal was waved off due to an offside call on Houston.
Genesis Perez Watson recorded a pair of saves in the first 45 minutes of play while Worden led the way offensively with a trio of shots.
UH managed to even the score at 1-1 early second half, however, as Samira Minor netted a goal from distance in the 52nd minute.
The Knights had an opportunity in the 57th minute when the ball was headed back to Ainsley Moy at the top of the box, but her shot was saved by UH’s Lexi Gonzalez. Worden later had a shot sail high, while Ella Holloran’s chance a few minutes later was too off the mark.
57' | Moy's shot is just saved.
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 19, 2025
UCF 1, UH 1 pic.twitter.com/thAZzz2Gfy
UCF had one more shot on goal in the 74th minute, but Moy’s strike from distance was saved.
Worden and Reed were both credited with assists on Hamano’s goal on the day. The assist gave Worden her team-leading seventh of the season and her second of the week. Worden finished with a game-high four shots on the day. Cameryn Maddox paced UH with a pair of shots.
Perez Watson saved two of her three chances on the day to move to 9-3-4 on the year in goal.
The contest marked the third and final game of a three-match road stretch for the Black and Gold. UCF went 1-0-2 during the stretch with a 2-1 win at Oklahoma State on Thursday as well as 1-1 draws at UH and Cincinnati.
The Knights will return to the UCF Soccer Complex for their final two home matches of the 2025 campaign. The Black and Gold will first host No. 10 Baylor on Thursday at 7 p.m. for Senior Knight, before capping their home slate against BYU on Monday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. UCF will then close its 2025 regular season at No. 12 Texas Tech on Thursday, Oct. 30.