ORLANDO – With head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak returning to the helm for her 12th season and helping her team to a solid finish in their first season of competition in the Big 12 Conference last season, the outlook for the 2024 UCF women’s soccer team is bright.
“We’re looking forward to a great 2024 season – our second year in the Big 12,” said Roberts Sahaydak. “With a number of new teams joining the conference again this season, it will be a new experience for us again and we’re excited about it. The preseason went really well and we’re excited to officially get started this week.”
The Knights, who begin their second season in the Big 12 this fall, welcome five starters from last year and 10 returning key players. The Black and Gold will also add a total of 13 newcomers to the team, including six freshmen and seven true freshmen.
“We learned a lot last year. Also logistically, we were in a lot of new places we’d never been before and played in a lot of new stadiums for the first time,” added Roberts Sahaydak. “I think our team handled that well and navigated all of those new environments well. Competition-wise, the Big 12 was a lot stronger than the American Athletic Conference. We knew to expect that and I thought we were ready for it.”
The Black and Gold finished sixth in the Big 12 last season with an overall record of 10-7-1 and a conference clip of 5-4-1. UCF picked up conference wins over Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma and West Virginia and drew with the league champion Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Knights then defeated the third-seeded TCU Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship before falling to the second-seeded BYU Cougars in the tournament semifinals.
With 16 teams in the Big 12 this year, UCF was projected to finish sixth behind BYU, Texas Tech, TCU, Colorado and Arizona State. The Knights are expected to finish ahead of West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Arizona, Utah, Cincinnati, Kansas, Houston, Iowa State and Kansas State. A trio of Knights earned Preseason All-Big 12 honors last week: senior forward Chloe Netzel, sophomore defender Jessica McCullen and freshman forward Edidiong Etim.
UCF will open its 2024 season this Thursday, Aug. 15, at Florida Atlantic. The Knights will then host Utah Valley for their first home game on Thursday, Aug. 22. The Black and Gold will then host No. 14 Georgia on Sept. 1 and open conference play by welcoming Houston to town on Sept. 12. UCF will also host fellow Big 12 opponents Arizona State (Sept. 22), Arizona (Oct. 10), TCU (Oct. 17), Oklahoma State (Oct. 20) and Cincinnati (Oct. 25).
“There’s a lot of new stuff in the conference again this year, but I don’t think that’s really what it’s about. We’re focused on ourselves, our standards and quality standards and the way we practice every day. So that we’re prepared,” Roberts Sahaydak added. “We’re going to do our best to scout our opponents and prepare our team, but I think we’re completely focused on our team. We have a great team this fall – one that our team is really excited about and what this team is capable of. Right now, we’re focused on ourselves and we’re going to do our best, whoever our opponent is.”
RETURNERS
Senior forward Netzel is UCF’s top returning scorer from last season, as she led the way in goals scored (7), points (17) and game-winning goals (4). She also finished second on the team in total shots (38) and shots on goal (21). Junior forward Mia Asenjo is next, as she scored three goals last year to go along with three assists for nine points. Netzel and Asenjo are both returning starters for UCF, as are senior defender Kyleigh Thelen, senior midfielder Annika Huhta and sophomore defender McCullen. Thelen started 17 games for the Black and Gold last season at defender, while Huhta started seven games in midfield and McCullen started 11 games from the back line.
Other returning key players for UCF this season include junior midfielder Polly Watson, sophomore midfielder Brooke Mulroney, sophomore forward Jalen Haas, sophomore defender Audrey Buck and senior midfielder Jade Steele. Watson leads the group, having played in 11 games last season, while Haas played in eight, Mulroney in six and Buck and Steele each played in five games.
The Knights also include several players who either did not play last year or were sidelined due to injury: veteran goalkeeper Lizah Pistorio, second-year midfielders Daniella Chung and Maria Tregansin, and new players Natalia Ballinas (D), Lilly Nava (F), Genesis Perez Watson (GW) and Jada Silvest (D).
