Women’s Soccer Travels to Morgantown to Face No. 12 West Virginia FridayWomen’s Soccer Travels to Morgantown to Face No. 12 West Virginia Friday

Women’s Soccer Travels to Morgantown to Face No. 12 West Virginia Friday

by James Warnick

ORLANDO – Having won three straight matches, the UCF women’s soccer team will hit the road for a Big 12 Conference contest at No. 12 West Virginia on Friday in Morgantown.

The Big 12 match is set for 3 p.m. at WVU’s Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats can be followed by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.

The Knights will enter Friday’s tilt with an 8-3-1 overall record and currently in a tie for seventh place in the conference standings with 10 points and a 3-2-1 league mark. The Black and Gold have won three straight matches with home victories over then-No. 17 Colorado and Oklahoma State and a road win at the defending Big 12 champion TCU Horned Frogs.

In UCF’s most recent contest, a 3-1 win over Oklahoma State at home on Sunday, junior midfielder Ainsley Moy led the way by recording her first career brace. With the match scoreless midway through the second half, Moy started the scoring by drawing and converting a penalty in the 68th minute for her first goal of the season.

Moy then struck again just two minutes later in the 70th minute. Ella Holloran weaved through traffic before finding Moy open at the top of the six-yard box, where she finished for her first career brace. The Cowgirls answered with a goal in the 75th minute, but UCF responded shortly thereafter with its second penalty kick goal of the match, as Tyra Eriksen converted from the spot to put the match out of reach.

Moy, Naomi Clark, Kalena Bellini and Gabi Berchon paced the UCF offense with three shots apiece while Moy led the way by finding the back of the net twice. Holloran led the way in assists by dishing out her first of the season. Goalkeeper Kaïna Cesar had another strong performance in goal by notching four saves and upping her record to 5-2-1 on the year.

SEASON LEADERS

Senior forward Naomi Clark leads the way with nine goals and 20 points. Her nine goals are good enough to tie for the Big 12 lead, and she also paces the league in goals per game (0.75) and points per game (1.67). Ainsley Moy leads the squad in assists with seven and is tied for third in the league in that category. She also ranks in the top 20 in the nation in assists per game (12th, 0.58) and total assists (16th, 7). Kaïna Cesar fronts the Knights in goal with 33 saves and a 5-2-1 record.

MOY TABBED BIG 12 POW AND TDS TEAM OF THE WEEK

Junior midfielder Ainsley Moy was named both the Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week and to Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week this week after helping lead UCF to a 2-0-0 record with a pair of goals and an assist. A native of Freehold, New Jersey, Moy first recorded her team-leading seventh assist of the season in UCF’s 2-1 road victory over TCU on Thursday, then followed it up with the first brace of her career to lead the Knights to a 3-1 home win over Oklahoma State on Sunday. Her five points on the week led the conference.

The weekly conference honor and the TDS Team of the Week recognition are both the first of Moy’s career.

YOUR BIG 12 LEADER

Transfer forward Naomi Clark has continued her fantastic first impression to Knight Nation, as she’s the Big 12 leader in a number of offensive categories. The Parker, Colorado, native registered all three goals in the Knights’ 3-1 win on Aug. 27 versus UAB, notching her first career hat trick and UCF’s first since Sept. 30, 2018. Clark’s most recent score came in the second-half goal versus then-No. 17 Colorado, extending the Knights’ lead to 2-0.

The senior’s nine goals through UCF’s 12 games ties her for first in the Big 12. That mark also represents a new career-high for goals in a single-season, surpassing her previous high of eight last year at Oklahoma. She solely leads the league in goals per game with a mark of 0.75. Her 20 total points are good enough for third in the conference and her 1.67 points per game mark solely leads the conference. Additionally, Clark’s 1.67 shots on goal average ranks third and her 3.33 shots per game ranks fourth. Nationally, she ranks in the top 25 in both total goals and goals per game.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Knights are currently undefeated at home on the season as they hold an unblemished 5-0-1 record. The last time the Black and Gold were unbeaten at the UCF Soccer Complex through six matches was 2017 when their lone home loss of the year came in the NCAA Tournament to Washington State. UCF finished with a 7-1-2 home clip that year. A season ago, UCF also posted a 7-1-2 home clip.

KNIGHTS IN THE TOP 25 THIS SEASON

While outside of the top 25 this week, UCF has been nationally ranked four times this season, most recently checking in at No. 23 in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Week 6 Top 25 Poll. UCF has climbed as high as No. 13 this season after previously being ranked No. 14 on Aug. 25. The Knights have also been ranked No. 13 on Sept. 1, No. 25 on Sept. 15, and No. 23 on Sept. 22.

The No. 13 ranking marked UCF’s highest since the 2017 season. The Knights are 1-3-1 this season when nationally ranked and 81-34-20 all-time as a ranked team, including a 43-14-10 mark at home. This season against nationally ranked teams, the Black and Gold hold a 2-0-1 record.

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA

The Mountaineers will enter Friday with a 9-1-2 overall record and currently tied for second in the league with 13 points and a 4-1-1 league mark. WVU is ranked 12th in this week’s IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll and 14th in the Top Drawer Soccer one. After opening league play with a draw against then-No. 12 Baylor and a road loss to then No. 13-Colorado, West Virginia has since responded with four straight conference wins over Iowa State, Houston, No. 20 BYU and Utah.

WVU was projected to tie for third in the Big 12 this season after going 14-3-4 overall and finishing second in league play with 27 points and an 8-0-3 conference mark. West Virginia made its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance in its last 26 seasons a season ago and had its 2025 campaign come to a close in the Round of 32 after Georgetown advanced on penalty kicks.

The current Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week Sophia Nickel fronts the Mountaineers with seven goals and 15 points. Nickel recorded a brace last week on her way to helping lead her team to a 2-0 win over then-No. 20 BYU. Abbey Olexa is next with four goals while Anna Hauer fronts the squad in assists with five. Bailey Herfurth leads the way in goal with 41 saves and a 9-1-2 record.

WVU is coached by Nikki Izzo-Brown. Izzo-Brown is the first and only coach in West Virginia’s history, as she’s currently in her 31st season at the helm in Morgantown. She holds a 425-149-81 record and has led the Mountaineers to 24 NCAA Tournament appearances.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WEST VIRGINIA

Friday's contest will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Knights and Mountaineers. WVU will enter the game holding to a 3-1-1 all-time advantage and a 2-0 clip in Morgantown. This will mark the fourth meeting as conference mates and the two are deadlocked with a 1-1-1 record in Big 12 play following a scoreless draw in Orlando last year.

BELLINI AND CESAR EARN BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS

Sophomore defender Kalena Bellini was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6, while junior keeper Kaïna Cesar notched Goalkeeper of the Week honors after their performance against No. 17 Colorado. The two helped stifle Colorado’s prolific offense to just eight total shots, four shots on goal, and no goals in the Big 12 contest.

For Bellini, who played all 90 minutes in the match and also recorded an assist, this marks the first Big 12 Weekly award for her career. Cesar’s accolade represents her first Big 12 Weekly honor, but the fifth of her career as she previously notched four ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week awards during her time at Lipscomb. Cesar, who recorded her second clean sheet of the year, was also tabbed the College Soccer News’ National Goalkeeper of the Week, the first of her career.

UNDEFEATED AGAINST SUNSHINE STATE FOES

UCF went a perfect 3-0 on the season versus Sunshine State opponents with wins over Florida, South Florida and North Florida. The Knights started the season with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Gators and followed that up with a 2-0 victory at USF the following week. After having a match at FIU postponed due to heavy rainfall and unplayable field conditions, UCF then capped in-state play with a 1-0 home win over UNF.

The Knights are now 7-1-0 against Sunshine State opponents over the last two years.

MAKE THAT FIVE STRAIGHT AGAINST SEC OPPONENTS

The Knights hold wins over both Florida and No. 21 LSU on the season to move their win streak over SEC opponents to five. UCF has defeated both Florida and LSU twice during the streak, as well as No. 8 Georgia at home in 2024.

The Black and Gold’s last non-victory against an opponent from the SEC was Aug. 25, 2024, when they drew with Florida in Gainesville. The Knights’ last loss to an SEC foe came on Aug. 24, 2023, at Georgia.

COACH TIFF TO REPRESENT USWNT AT 2027 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

UCF head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak has rejoined the U.S. Women's National Team as a current assistant coach on Emma Hayes' staff. Roberts Sahaydak has been with the USWNT a number of times during 2026, as she took part in the team's January Camp, in February for the SheBelieves Cup, in April for the April Camp (friendlies vs. Japan), and in June for the June Camp (friendlies vs. Brazil). She will remain on staff and represent her home nation at the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

As a player, Roberts Sahaydak won both Olympic Gold (1996) and the 1999 World Cup with the USWNT. She went on to earn 112 caps for her country. She also previously spent time as an assistant coach for the USWNT in 2022 and 2023 for the 2023 Women's World Cup that was held in Australia/New Zealand.

FRESHMAN DANIELA OCAMPO TOOK PART IN 2026 FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP

Freshman midfielder Daniela Ocampo represented her home nation of Costa Rica at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup from Sept. 5-27 in Poland.

Despite Costa Rica having their run come to a close in the group stage with an 0-3 record, Ocampo started all three matches for Costa Rica. The national appearance wasn’t the first for Ocampo, as she previously competed for Costa Rica at both the 2024 U-20 World Cup as well as the 2025 U-17 World Cup where she was a team captain for her home nation.

MOST CURRENT PROS IN THE BIG 12

UCF women's soccer has the most current pros of any Big 12 institution with 28. Former goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson was the latest Knight to go pro as the 2025 All-Big 12 Second Team honoree signed a professional contract with Atlético Madrid of the Spanish Liga F this summer.

Fellow 2025 All-Big 12 honorees Liz Worden and Rajanah Reed also went pro, as Worden plays for Racing Power FC of Liga BPI and Reed for Dallas Trinity FC of the USL Super League.

UP NEXT

The Knights will next return to Orlando for a pair of home matches next week. UCF will first host Cincinnati on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. The game will mark Fright Knight in which UCF will don brand new Halloween-themed kits. The Black and Gold will then cap the homestand by hosting Houston on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. for the Alumni Game.

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.