UCF Women's Soccer Ends Season With Second-Round Loss at
Wisconsin
Knights finish their year with a 17-5-1 record.
Final Stats |
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Box Score in PDF Format
 MADISON, Wis. (UCFAthletics.com)
- The UCF women's soccer team fell one game shy of reaching the Sweet
Sixteen, suffering a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin on the Badgers' home field in the
NCAA Tournament Second Round Sunday. The Knights closed out their 2009
season with a 17-5-1 record, tying for the second-most victories in program
history.
"It was not what we expected. We expected to win," said 11th year head
coach
Amanda Cromwell. "It was a hard-fought game, but this ground is not
conducive to our style of play. We try to use the flanks and get in on the
endline, and we're usually dangerous on corner kicks and set plays. But in
the end we weren't really effective in the attacking third, as far as
getting shots off and making their keeper make saves. Their No. 12 (Alev
Kelter) in their midfield was very good and No. 16 (Laure Nosbusch) was good
up top. At this level it takes one play sometimes."
The loss marked the third-straight season UCF was bounced in the Second
Round. It entered the weekend ranked as high as No. 12 in the country and
was the third-seed in the Stanford Regional, but was one of three seeded
teams shipped away from their home surface for the first two rounds.
"It certainly was a disadvantage to have to travel to Wisconsin and play
on a very hard surface. It was great that we were given a national seed, but
that really does not mean anything when we get sent out of Orlando and into
a cold weather environment. As a seed we deserved to have home field
advantage. It's a shame that we, along with UF, have great seasons and
earned a top 16 seed for the postseason yet were not at home. It's no
mystery why only one team out of 13 top seeds lost at home (LSU tied in the
Second Round). And two out of three top seeds lost on the road."
Sophomore keeper
Aline Reis had another solid game, posting eight saves against the
Badgers (10-5-6). She completed her weekend with 15 saves and allowed just
one goal in the two matches in Wisconsin.
UCF earned the first scoring chance of the match eight minutes in, as a
UW defender tried to head the ball out of the box but it went off the
crossbar.
Yvonne George was there for the rebound but her shot was deflected wide.
The Badgers then had a pair of opportunities, but saw Reis make a save and a
goal get called back due UW being offsides.
The Badgers maintained offensive pressure for the remaining part of the
half, and it paid off with just 21 seconds left as UW sent in a cross from
the right side and Roxanne Carlson put it barely out of the reach of a
diving Reis for the 1-0 lead.
The Knights showed some life as soon as the second half opened, getting
two corner kicks but were unable to get a clean shot off. UW hoped to answer
the threat when Paige Adams was alone all in the box only to witness Reis
make a remarkable kick save. The UCF keeper made another highlight-reel save
with just over 20 minutes to go, diving to snag an Erin Jacobsen free kick
from the top of the box.
Although Reis was impressive in net, the Badger defense was too much for
the UCF forwards as UW held on the rest of the way to advance in the
postseason.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the
official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket
and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new
online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for
UCF action sports pictures, and become a follow of the Knights at
Twitter.com.
Postgame Notes
Wisconsin (10-5-6) - 1
UCF (17-5-1) - 0
Goals: UW Roxanne Carlson (1) 45th
-All five of UCF's losses in 2009 were shutout defeats. It was the third 1-0
loss for the Knights.
-UCF ended up with a 6-2 lead in corner kicks.
-Freshman
Alex Brandt came off the bench to play 50 minutes and took two shots.
-The Knights reached the Second Round for the third-straight year and for
the fourth time since 2004.
-Senior
Becca Thomas finished her career ranked fifth all-time with 196 shots as
well as fourth with 29 assists at UCF. Meanwhile, senior
Courtney Whidden ranked sixth in goals (33), second in game-winners (13)
and eighth in points (77).
-The senior class accumulated 57 wins in four years, along with two
Conference USA titles and three NCAA Tournament berths. It also achieved
UCF's highest national ranking since 1992 when the Knights were No. 8 in the
country earlier in 2009.
-Sophomore
Aline Reis racked up 82 saves in 2009, tying for the 10th most in UCF
single-season history.
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