CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
BOX SCORE
DALLAS – On Tuesday No. 3 UCF and No. 6 Temple met in the postseason for the first time, competing in the fourth quarterfinal game of the American Athletic Conference Championship at 7 p.m. CT. The Knights claimed a 2-1 victory over the Owls, which marks their second win against Temple this season.
UCF earned a 1-0 advantage when Temple scored its own goal in the seventh minute. The Knights extended their lead to 2-0 when senior Ashley Spivey scored in the 22nd minute on an assist by Carol Rodrigues. Spivey and Rodrigues, the 2015 American Athletic Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year, both lead the team and rank third in the conference with 11 goals each this season.
Senior Kelly Farrell put Temple on the board in the 88th minute, notching her conference-leading 13th goal of the season. Junior midfielder Gina DiTaranto assisted the goal.
Temple outshot UCF 14-13, while the teams had an even 7-7 shots on goal. Freshman Jordan Nash tallied five saves in net for the Owls, while UCF freshman goalie Vera Varis recorded six stops in the win.
UCF is riding a six-game winning streak as the team heads to Thursday’s semifinal match to face No. 2 USF at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Bulls claimed a 3-0 victory over No. 7 Memphis in the third quarterfinal match to advance to the semifinals.
The 2015 championship is being held at Westcott Field on the SMU campus in Dallas. The semifinals will take place on Nov. 5. The semifinal games will be aired for free on The American Digital Network. The final will be on Sunday, Nov. 8 and will be aired live on ESPN 3/WatchESPN, with a tape delay at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT on ESPNU.