UCF drops delayed exhibition match

Multiple weather delays and a tough opponent created the perfect storm for a rocky season opener.

The No. 12 Knights lost their exhibition game 2-0 to the No. 21 Florida Gators Saturday night at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex.

The match, consisting of one 45-minute session followed by two 30-minute sessions, was lopsided as the Gators dominated all three sessions.

“They are better than their No. 21 ranking for sure. They are definitely a top 15 school in the country and we knew that from playing them in the postseason last year,” head coach Amanda Cromwell said.

UF’s midfielder Havana Solaun put the Gators on the board first in the 35th minute of the first session. Later, Tessa Andujar assisted Erika Tymrak on the Gators second goal in the 56th minute of the match.

“It's good to see against a good quality school what we need to do. We have some things to work on. We have some people out with injuries so we didn't see the full starting team,” Cromwell said.

Junior Lianne Maldonado guarded UCF’s net for the fist session. Later, Connie Organ took Maldonado’s spot for the remainder of the exhibition. They accounted for a total of five saves during the match.

The Knights had to stop warm ups twice due to weather delays before the game. As a result the match started a little over an hour than expected.

Cromwell feels that the weather delays affected the team in a negative way.

“We didn't come out in the same energy they did. A downside of having those delays is that you’re never quite sure how it will affect your team,” Cromwell said.

The Knights took this game to see what they needed to improve on by using numerous players and different formations.

“We actually played three different formations throughout the period,” Cromwell said. “Tonight wasn't about winning but we definitely wanted to score goals and do better on the attack and limit them in their scoring.”

The Knights will take this game and work to refine their skills before traveling to Tampa on Aug. 17 to kick off the regular season against USF at 7:30 p.m.