ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 2-seed USF and No. 1-seed UCF will battle it out Sunday in The American Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championship for a chance to secure the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The finals match will air live on ESPNEWS at 2 p.m. ET.
UCF and USF will meet for the 16th time. The Knights lead the all-time series 10-2-3. The last six meetings include a pair of UCF victories (2014, 2015), one USF victory (2015 American Athletic Conference semifinal) and three ties (2013 American Athletic Conference semifinal, 2016, 2017).
During their last meeting in Orlando a week ago, the two teams played to a 1-1 double overtime draw. With 10 seconds left in the first half, Andrea Hauksdottir netted an unassisted shot on goal to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. Less than 10 minutes into the second half a cross from Morgan Ferrara found Dina Orschmann as she equalized the score 1-1. Neither team was able to score through the remainder of regulation play and the match ended in a 1-1 double-overtime draw. With a one-point advantage in league standings, UCF won the regular season title and earned the top seed in the conference championship.
USF is one of two teams in the conference to tie the Knights this season. The Bulls are led by Evelyne Viens, who has 11 goals and 29 points this season. Viens scored her 11th goal in the conference semifinals, providing the game-winner as the USF defeated SMU to advance to the conference championship. On the defensive end, goalkeeper Kat Elliott has recorded three complete shutouts, while the Bulls have tallied six total clean sheets on the year. The Bulls’ performance on the field has garnered national attention in the past two weeks, as USF has been receiving votes in both national polls.
UCF, the top-10 (No. 8/9) nationally ranked and conference regular season champions, come into the match on a 15-match unbeaten streak. The Knights posted a 7-0-2 record in league, with ties against Cincinnati (Sept. 21) and USF (Sept. 27). Ferrara leads the conference with 13 goals this season and was named the American’s Offensive Player of the Year. Vera Varis, The American Goalkeeper of the Year, has recorded seven complete shutouts this season, allowed just one goal in conference play and ranks fourth in the nation in goals-against average (0.252).
For more information about the conference championship, visit Championship Central at
www.TheAmerican.org/WSoccer.
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