Women’s Soccer to Host Kansas State in Sunday Afternoon ClashWomen’s Soccer to Host Kansas State in Sunday Afternoon Clash

Women’s Soccer to Host Kansas State in Sunday Afternoon Clash

by James Warnick

ORLANDO – After defeating Utah 2-0 to record its second straight win in Big 12 Conference play, the UCF women’s soccer team will look ahead to Sunday when it hosts the Kansas State Wildcats at the UCF Soccer Complex.

The match will begin at 1 p.m. and will air live on ESPN+. Live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.

The Knights enter the short turnaround with an 8-2-1 record through 11 games, marking the best start for the program since 2017 (9-1-1). A 2-1-1 Big 12 record is good for sixth place in the conference standings, tied with Arizona State.

The Black and Gold followed up their 3-2 ranked win over No. 17 Arizona State with a 2-0 shutout against Utah at the UCF Soccer Complex Thursday night.

After withstanding an early offensive flurry from Utah in the first 20 minutes of the contest, the Knights responded by netting a pair of goals over the next few minutes to take a 2-0 advantage before the half.

In the 24th minute, Liz Worden managed to draw a foul in the center of the box which resulted in a penalty kick for the Black and Gold. Honoka Hamano then took the PK for the Knights and slotted one past Utah’s keeper on the right side of the goal to give UCF a 1-0 lead.

The Knights continued on the attack over the next few minutes and managed to extend their lead to 2-0 following a goal from Worden in the 32nd minute. The Utes’ defense sent a ball back to their goalkeeper Erin Gibbs and Worden put the pressure on and was there to intercept a pass. Worden then fired a shot into the back of the net to add to the Black and Gold’s lead. The goal marked the UCF forward’s fourth of the season to tie with Rajanah Reed for the team lead.

Utah threatened offensively in the contest by recording 20 shots to UCF’s eight and seven shots on goal to the Knights’ three. But the Black and Gold defense and Genesis Perez Watson were up for the challenge by shutting out the Utes for UCF’s fourth shutout of the year. The result also marked Perez Watson’s fourth clean sheet of the season, as she recorded a season-high seven saves on the night.

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 brings her to three on the year, tied 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 33 and 15, respectively.

With her fourth clean sheet of the season following a season-high seven saves on Thursday, goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson now totals 36 saves and an impressive .818 save percentage. She has played all 990 minutes of the season for UCF.

EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED
Through 11 games in 2025, the Black and Gold have scored in eight out of 11 matches, and are 7-0-0 when scoring two or more goals in one game. Defensively, the Knights have kept four clean sheets and have only conceded more than one goal once against No. 17 Arizona State on Sept. 28, a match in which the Knights came out on top 3-2. In all, UCF has outscored the opposition 19-8 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.

ABOUT KANSAS STATE
The Wildcats (5-4-2, 0-3-1 Big 12) will come to Orlando looking for their first win in Big 12 Conference play, after losing three straight to No. 10 TCU (0-1), Baylor (0-3), and most recently Kansas (1-4). K-State opened conference play with a 0-0 draw at Colorado, marking its sixth shutout of the year. The Wildcats started the season hot, winning four in a row and not conceding a single goal until their sixth game, a 2-0 setback against Nebraska.

Kansas State was picked to finish 16th in the Big 12 this year after going 3-12-3 and placing 16th in the 2024 conference standings following a 0-9-2 finish. Their 2024 season ended after their final regular season match, a 2-0 loss to Kansas at home.

With three goals each, forwards Hannah Palmer, Andra Mohler, and Allison Marshall all lead the scoring charts for the Wildcats. In addition to being the points leader with 10, Palmer also co-leads in assists with four, tied with forward McKinnan Braswell.

Goalkeeper Maddie Sibbing has posted 37 saves on the season, ranking third in the Big 12. Her six shutouts and .545 shutouts per game are tied with Faith Nguyen of Texas Tech for second place in the conference. Sibbing has a .771 save percentage through 11 games.

Kansas State is coached by first-year head coach Colleen Corbin, who won 2022 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honors as the head coach of Wyoming.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS STATE
Sunday afternoon’s tilt will mark only the second ever meeting between the Knights and Wildcats. The teams first met on the pitch last year when UCF earned a point on the road in a 1-1 draw, thanks to a late goal from Mia Asenjo.

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 0.73 per game. Perez Watson’s four clean sheets bests her two from 2024, and she has set career highs in save percentage (.818) and goals against average (.727). Her 36 total saves sees her tied for fourth place in the Big 12 Conference standings.

Furthermore, her ability to distribute the ball during goal kicks and buildup play has been top-notch, as her 88.06% accurate pass rate ranks in the top 14% of all NCAA Division 1 goalkeepers.

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 on Thursday, Liz Worden now ties Rajanah Reed with four goals on the season. Gabi Berchon and Honoka Hamano are right behind them with three, and Worden continues to front the team in assists (5) and points (13). Reed leads the way with shots (33) and shots on goal (15).

Now at 8-2-1, the record marks the Knights' best start to a season since 2017 when the team opened with an 9-1-1 record through 11 games.

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

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.

UP NEXT FOR UCF
UCF will embark on a three-game away stint, beginning at Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The Knights will then travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. The Black and Gold will conclude the trip on Sunday, Oct. 19 when they travel to the Lone Star State to take on the Houston Cougars, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.