UCF Women's Soccer vs. Hartford 09AUG08

Last Friday the University of Central Florida women's soccer team faced a tough opponent in No. 9 Florida. On Sunday, the Knights hosted the Hartford Hawks, but their toughest opponent that afternoon may have been Hurricane Gustav, parked in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm provided a pervasive 20-30mph wind with gusts well into tropical storm range.
"The wind is harder to play in than the rain. We're used to the rain. You could tell. Our playmaking going [towards the west sideline], the balls would die or we'd run out of bounds. Wind in soccer isn't the best," said head coach Amanda Cromwell.

Indeed, several long passes rolled out of bounds before an attacker could catch up to them and continue play.

The Knights overcame a solid defensive showing by Hartford and the elements when, with five minutes left to play, junior Becca Thomas scored a late goal leading to UCF (2-1-0) defeating Hartford (2-1-1) 1-0. Assisting on the score was junior Yvonne George.

Coach Cromwell said "the offense was there" but that "the easiest thing to get right early on is the defense and the mid-fielding and now the attacking, that's what we're gonna key on this week."

This is the second straight game in which UCF scored the winning goal with less than seven minutes left to play.