The UCF Women’s Soccer team is moving on to the second round in the NCAA Tournament after taking down Maine in Orlando on Friday, 2-0.
The win marks the Knights’ first in an NCAA Tournament match hosted in Orlando since 2014.
Head Coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said the Black Bears put the Knights on their heels early, getting a shot on target at the 1:23 mark, which was saved by goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson, one of two she’d make that night.
“I thought
we actually were outcompeted in the very beginning,” Sahaydak said.“I don’t know if that was nerves. I don’t know what the team was thinking, but at halftime, the message was like, ‘Let’s play up to our standard,‘ because even though we scored, I didn’t think that was the best half that we actually produced, and that’s just because we have high standards for ourselves, but a lot of credit to Maine, because I think they rattled us in the beginning of the game.”
That score Sahaydak was referring to was forward Rajanah Reed’s eighth goal of the season, scored in the 21st minute with assists from fellow forward Liz Worden, her 10th of the season, and defender Guta Franke, her first of the season.
Franke got another assist in the second half, teaming up with midfielder Honoka Hamano to find midfielder Hannah Boughton on a no-look header for her first goal of the season.
The play ended up being a reversal from training the day before, according to Sahaydak, in which Boughton found Franke for goals.
“So, usually, we both are not in the attack,” Franke said. “So, that’s why, in practice, we were joking like ‘This is probably not gonna happen,’ but since the connection was there, it was actually the opposite. I assisted her, and I’m really happy for her.”
The goal was just the second of Bougthton’s career and first since her freshman season in Missouri in 2022.
“I kind of knew I just had to, like, flick it with the momentum of the ball, and so I just knew I had to flick it behind me, and I kind of just hoped that it would go in,” Boughton said.
The Knights’ second-round matchup, and a hypothetical Sweet 16 match, sees them flying to Durham, North Carolina, to take on 2-seed Duke on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. It will mark the first meeting between the two programs since 2016 and provides an opportunity for Sahaydak to reunite with her 1999 U.S. Women’s National Team captain, Carla Werden Overbeck, who has been an assistant for the Blue Devils since 1992. This season marks her first season on the staff of Kieran Hall, her third head coach.
Learn more about all four teams descending on Durham, North Carolina, this week below:
7-seed UCF Knights (RPI #30)
The Knights have stood out in the Big 12 with their defense, ranking second in the conference in save percentage (83.3%) and third in goals allowed per game with 0.75. Both of these come courtesy of All-Big 12 Second Team Goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson, who marked her first full season with the Knights in 2025.
“She’s come up big when she needs to come up big, and she’s just going to continue to do the thing,” Sahaydak said on Tuesday.
On offense, a pair of transfer forwards in Liz Worden, UCF’s lone All-Big 12 First Teamer, and Rajanah Reed, an All-Big 12 Second Teamer, have anchored the Knights, accounting for half of the team’s 30 total goals this season.
Reed, a Washington State transfer, leads the team with eight goals. She ranks third in the conference in shot accuracy, with 56.9% of her shots being on target. Meanwhile, Worden, formerly of Long Beach State, has not only tallied seven goals but also ten assists, tied for the third-most in the Big 12.
“We have a team full of difference makers, but if I had to guess who Duke would put on their scouting report, it’s going to be Liz Worden, because you look and you know, she’s a leading point person,” Sahaydak said.
Meanwhile, the midfield is anchored by a pair of All-Big Second Teamers, Honoka Hamano and Maria Tregansin. Hamano has been a secondary offensive threat for the Knights, with a 47.6% shot-on-goal percentage, four goals and five assists, while Sahaydak has said Tregansin makes a “really big impact as a defensive center midfielder.”
2-seed Duke Blue Devils (RPI #11)
The Blue Devils (13-4-1, 8-4 ACC) have been relentless on the attack this season, attempting the second-most shots in the ACC this season, averaging 22.75 a game, with an average of 8.26 of them per game being on goal, which is the third-best in the conference.
All-ACC First Teamer Mina Minestrella is their main striker with 15 goals, tied for the second-most in the ACC. All-ACC Second-Teamer Kat Rader fulfills both a striker and facilitator role, with her 10 goals, tied for ninth in the conference, matching her 10 assists, tied for the fourth-most in the conference.
Meanwhile, despite not getting a conference honor, midfielder Mia Oliaro actually leads the team with 11 assists, which is where she had the most success this season.
Their back line is anchored by All-ACC Third Teamer Cameron Roller and All-ACC Freshman Team selection Daya King, which has helped the Blue Devils to eight shutouts this season.
However, once the ball got back to sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Dysart, it ended up getting past her more often than some others in the ACC. She ranks seventh in the conference in goals against average (1.072 GAA) against average and 11th in save percentage (71.2%).
3-seed Kansas Jayhawks (RPI #7)
The Jayhawks (15-5-3, 6-4-1 Big 12) have one of the most aggressive attacks in the Big 12. Not only does it average the third-most shots per game in the Big 12 (16.45), but it also has the fourth-highest shots on goal average. However, such aggression has come back to bite them at times as they lead the Big 12 with 230 fouls, averaging 10.45 a game, and 58 offsides calls, averaging 2.64 calls per game.
They’re led by All-Big 12 First Teamer Lexi Watts, who has the fifth-highest shots per game average (3.29), the fourth-highest shots on goal average (1.48), and the sixth-most goals (10) in the conference. However, All-Big 12 Second Team midfielder Jillian Gregorski is not far behind with eight goals.
Such an aggressive offense comes in handy to make up for the fact that the Jayhawks, with sophomore Sophie Dawe in goal, have given up the fifth-most goals (25) in the Big 12 and have recorded the third-lowest save percentage (70.6%) in the league.
On the back line, All-Big 12 First Team defender Caroline Castans not only anchors the back line, but she also is a factor offensively, ranking second in the Big 12 with 11 assists this season.
6-seed Louisville Cardinals (RPI #15)
The Cardinals (13-3-4, 6-2-2 ACC) rank not far behind Duke’s attack with an average of 16 shots per game and a 7.70 shots on goal average. However, Louisville’s attack is more dispersed, with All-ACC Second-Teamer Amelia Swinarski leading the team with 10 goals and 10 assists.
Similar to Duke, the Cardinals have a stout back line, led by All-ACC Second Teamer Karsyn Cherry, since goalkeeper Erin Floyd has the fewest goals allowed in the ACC at 13 and tied for the conference’s most shutouts with 10, but ranks seventh in save percentage at 78%.
The Jayhawks and the Cardinals face off on Thursday at 4 p.m. ahead of the Knights and Blue Devils’ match.
