PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In a wild Sunday of women's soccer action the American Athletic Conference, Temple upset No. 19/16 USF in double overtime, UCF scored five goals in a win, ECU handed SMU its first league loss of the year and Cincinnati scored with two seconds left in regulation in a draw at Houston.
Sunday, September 27
UCF 5, UConn 3
The UCF women's soccer team swept its opening weekend of American Athletic Conference action with a 5-3 win at Connecticut on Sunday afternoon in a match aired live on the American Digital Network.
The Knights (5-3-1, 2-0 The American) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over UConn (2-11, 0-4 The American). The Huskies responded to cut UCF's lead in half, 4-2, going into halftime. UConn pulled within a goal, 4-3, in the 57th minute. Stefanie Sanders recorded the final goal of the contest in the 65th minute for her second hat trick of the season.
For UConn, Elena Santos netted a brace and helped keep the Huskies in the match.
Next, UCF hosts ECU on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. UConn enters their bye week.
Temple 1, USF 0 (2OT)
Temple showed relentless effort and a fearless mentality in their 1-0 double-overtime victory over No. 19/16. The Owls edged out the Bulls in the 105th minute, with the golden goal coming off the boot of freshman Gabriela Johnson. This win marks Temple's first triumph over a ranked opponent in program history.
Johnson's golden goal in the 105th minute was the culmination of the sheer effort the Owls displayed throughout the match. She created the play on the right flank. Johnson maneuvered past several USF defenders and sent a ground ball on goal from right outside the box. The ball rolled past a USF defender and the sprawled keeper, tapping the bottom of the left post and finding the back of the net.
Temple enters its bye week as USF welcomes Cincinnati on Thursday at 7 p.m. for the Bulls home conference opener.
ECU 2, Houston 1
A late defensive stand helped the ECU women's soccer team beat SMU 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Johnson Stadium for the first conference win of the season.
For most of the first half, neither team could generate clear-cut scoring chances. Luckily for ECU, the Pirates were able to create one with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Kat Gonzalez passed to Daria Draovitch at the top of the SMU box. Draovitch had two defenders between her and the goal, but she used her first touch to pop the ball into the air and into space behind the SMU backs. Draovitch then ran onto the ball and took a shot across her body that caught the inside of the post and bounced into the goal to give ECU the lead.
The Pirates doubled their lead shortly after the halftime break. Morgan Dewey swung a corner kick into the SMU box and both teams scrambled to win the ball. After a few bounces, Kim Sanford was able to direct the ball towards Madie Knaggs who tucked her shot home, making the score 2-0. It was the first career goal for Knaggs.
ECU heads on the final road trip of the regular season as The Pirates play at UCF on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Mustangs return to Westcott Field to face Tulsa and Memphis in the final home weekend of the regular season.
Houston 3, ECU 2 (2OT)
Houston and Cincinnati battled for 110 minutes in a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at the Bearcats' Gettler Stadium.
Fresh off of its sixth overtime match of the season and second consecutive, Houston jumped out of the gate early and posted a goal inside the 11th minute of action. Mia Brascia shook off a Cincinnati defender to score her second goal of the season and second goal of the weekend to put Houston up 1-0.
Houston's lead was maintained until the final seconds of regulation as Cincinnati's Jill Vetere scored with two seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Both teams continued to fight through extra time but neither could find the golden goal.
The Cougars will return home on Oct. 4 against No. 20 Memphis at noon. UC hits the road next at No. 19/16USF Thursday night at 7 p.m.
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