Women's soccer wins outright crown for first time since ’03

Head coach Amanda Cromwell's most daunting challenge Friday night was avoiding the traditional Gatorade shower during No. 8 UCF Women's soccer 4-0 win against Southern Miss.

The Knights clinched their first outright Conference USA regular season championship and third in five years, winning their ninth-consecutive game on senior night at the UCF Soccer Complex in front of 1,048 fans.  

It was the second time UCF drew in more than 1,000 in the crowd this season.  The school record of 1,142 was set against then No. 4 FSU on September 10th. 

The victory cinched the team's first outright crown since their conference tournament title in 2003 when they were in the Atlantic Sun.  

UCF finished the regular season with a 15-3-1 record and 10-1-0 in C-USA reeling off nine-straight conference wins.  The 10 conference victories tied a school record for most league wins in a season, this happened in 2002 also when the team was in the A-Sun.  In addition it sets a school record for most C-USA wins in a season.

Cromwell said the winning streak is a testament to the seniors and their leadership.  

"It's been a bit of a grind the last four weeks," Cromwell said.  "We've been on the road the last four games and played against teams that need wins to get in the conference tournament."     

The Knights clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2009 C-USA Women's Soccer Championship, where they face the winner of the UTEP/UAB match in the semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. 

The conference post-season tournament is hosted by SMU in Dallas, Texas.  

UCF beat both teams earlier in the season when they faced off.  The Knights won 3-1 against the Blazers on September 25th and 3-2 against the Miners on October 9th.

"Tonight was senior night, we scored some great goals and a lot of players contributed," Cromwell said. "Across the board I'm very happy about tonight. This senior group has a tremendous body of work behind them and I'm excited about what's to come. 

"We have two mini-seasons left. We have to take two games at the conference tournament, and from there its six games at the NCAA Tournament."    

It didn't take long for UCF to open up the scoring as senior midfielder Becca Thomas took a pass at the top of the box and hit the top right corner in the third minute. It was her sixth score of the year.  Senior forward Courtney Whidden and defender Amaka Ofuani were credited with the assist.  Ofuani was injured for most of the season but got the start in her first appearance. 

In the 32nd minute, Whidden notched her ninth goal of the season to lift the Knights 2-0.  The assists came from senior goalkeeper Lynzee Lee and Lauren Halbert, who dribbled across the field and crossed it into the box.

Whidden said it was a great feeling to win on senior night and clinch the conference title.

"It's awesome," Whidden said.  "We've never done it before.  It's so exciting because the team's worked so hard and just getting that ring is the great end to the regular season and we're excited to go into conference.

"We brought heart and determination.  We played so good tonight I'm so proud of our team." 

Five minutes before the half sophomore midfielder Katie Jackson scored her fifth goal of the year in the 40th minute to extend the lead to 3-0.  Freshman midfielder Alex Brandt picked up her first of two assists on the night.

The final tally of the night came in the 80th minute of the match when freshman forward Nicolette Radovcic scored from 15 yards out on a through ball from Brandt, it was her fourth goal of the season.

The Knights out-shot Golden Eagles 23-2 placing nine shots on goal.  

In goal, Lee was in between the posts for the final time in the regular season.  She started her fifth game of the season improving to 5-0-1 helping the Knights keep a clean sheet.

The Knights set a record in the stands as well in the 2009 season, a total of 4,601 fans attended home games at the complex, a new school record.

With the regular season officially in the books, Cromwell said that it does not matter what her team did in the regular season.  With the post season under way each team is even.

"It's a whole new season," Cromwell said.  "Basically everyone is on equal footing.  No records matter at that point and really the rankings don't matter, its where your seeded and who you're playing."