ORLANDO – Senior Liz Worden recorded her first brace of the season to lead UCF to a 2-1 victory over BYU in the team’s regular season home finale on Monday afternoon at the UCF Soccer Complex.
Worden found the back of the next twice within the first 20 minutes of the game to give the Knights an early 2-0 advantage. BYU got a goal back in the 80th minute, but Black and Gold keeper Genesis Perez Watson and the UCF defense stayed strong over the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
The Knights moved to 11-2-4 overall and 5-1-4 in Big 12 play with the victory while BYU dropped to 8-6-3 and 3-5-2 with the setback. UCF is now unbeaten in its last eight matches and has secured a spot to compete at the 2025 Big 12 Soccer Tournament presented by Allstate that will open play on Monday, Nov. 3 at TCU. Seeding for the tournament will be determined following Thursday’s regular season finale.
“It was a great performance. It was big to be able to get the result over a tough opponent in Baylor the other night and then to come out and do it again against another talented team in BYU. I’m really proud of the group for being able to get these two wins,” head UCF coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said.
With the game scoreless in the early stages, Honoka Hamano fed a pass to Rajanah Reed outside the top of the box. Reed then threaded a ball through the defense and ahead to Worden and the senior striker was able to push a shot past the keeper with her left foot to open the scoring in the eighth minute. The goal marked Worden’s sixth of the season to tie with teammate Reed for the team lead.
9' | Ro's clever pass finds Liz to open the scoring 🎯
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 27, 2025
UCF 1, BYU 0 pic.twitter.com/3Nb9A3lemR
Just 10 minutes later, Reed passed a ball ahead to Hamano at midfield. Hamano then found Worden in stride outside the box and Worden was able to fire a shot from the top of the 18 and into the back of the net for her second goal of the half. The goal came in the 18th minute and marked Worden’s team-leading seventh of the season.
18' | Liz buries it for her second goal of the half! 💥
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 27, 2025
UCF 2, BYU 0 pic.twitter.com/dvGPVuvHmD
BYU managed to fire off seven shots over the final 27 minutes of the half, but the UCF defense and keeper Genesis Perez Watson stayed strong to keep it a 2-0 score at the break.
“I thought that we were pretty calm on the ball and did a nice job of keeping possession early,” Roberts Sahaydak added. “I do think the heat had something to do with it. I think this environment played a factor and favored us today. It seemed like we had a little more pep in our step in the first half and we managed to take advantage of that.”
The Cougars looked to get on the scoresheet in the second half and finally managed to break through with a goal from Mia Lopez in the 80th minute to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
BYU would get off two more shots the rest of the way—one from Ella Labrum and one from Emma Hamberlin—but both were off target, as UCF held on for the victory.
Brigham Young outshot the Knights 20-5 and 8-3 on goal on the afternoon, but UCF’s Perez Watson tied a season-high with seven saves to help preserve the win for the Knights. Perez Watson upped her record to 11-2-4 on the season with the result.
Worden led the Black and Gold with two goals on three shots, while Reed and Hamano finished with a pair of assists apiece. Ellie Walbruch, Izzi Stratton and Hamberlin paced BYU with a trio of shots apiece.
The Black and Gold capped their home season with a 6-1-2 record at the UCF Soccer Complex and undefeated in league play with a 3-0-2 mark in Big 12 play.
The Knights will close their regular season by heading to Lubbock, Texas, to face No. 5/6 Texas Tech on Thursday at 8 p.m. at John Walker Soccer Complex. Seeding for the Big 12 Tournament will be on the line, as UCF will enter the contest in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings. The 2025 Big 12 Tournament presented by Allstate will run Nov. 3-8 and will open with the quarterfinals next Monday at TCU.
Another Won! pic.twitter.com/dCimqkjHg3
— UCF Women's Soccer (@UCF_WSoccer) October 27, 2025