EL PASO, Texas – The five-time defending Conference USA Champions were knocked off the plateau on Wednesday as No. 20 UCF (15-4-1) defeated Memphis (10-8-1) at UTEP’s University Field in the first round of the C-USA Tournament.
Christa Strickland made 10 first half saves to equal her previous career high and the freshman goalkeeper added three in the second half to finish with a career-best 13 saves. With 71 saves on the season, Strickland finished tied for second among freshman goalkeepers in program history.
Playing a corner kick early in the first half, Kaitlyn Atkins placed a beautiful kick into the box and Diamond Simpson got a foot on it. Simpson’s shot went from the right post to the left post, but a UCF defender made the team save just in front of the goal line to keep the game scoreless.
In the 13th minute, UCF got their offense on the attack and Bianca Joswiak hammered a shot from about nine yards away, but Strickland held on for the save. Two minutes later, a set piece helped the Knights grab the 1-0 lead. Andrea Rodrigues served the corner kick to the near post and Strickland’s attempted clear bounced off the crossbar, hit the post and went in.
The Knights keep up the fast-paced offensive attack with a blistering half that saw UCF out-shoot the Lady Tigers 14-4. UCF put 11-of-14 shots on goal with Strickland tying her career high with 10 saves in the half.
The set piece worked again for the Knights as Tishia Jewell’s free kick from long distance looped over the out-stretched hands of Strickland for the score. Jewell’s kick was high-arcing from 45 yards away on the right side to the left post.
Memphis struggled to get any offense going in the second half as the U of M had four shots in the period. On the game, UCF out-shot Memphis 23-8 and had a 15-2 edge in shots on goal.
One of eight teams to in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer history to win five-straight tournament titles, Memphis ends a dominant run in C-USA with a record of 64-14-9 over the last six seasons of league play.
