Three first-half goals doom soccer in 4-0 loss at UCF
ORLANDO, Fla. — If the contention that the creation of scoring chances is a clear indicator of a game’s final score, the Texas soccer team’s season opener at UCF should have been close.
It wasn’t.
The Longhorns only came up one short of the Knights in shots, 11-10, and two short (8-6) in shots on goal. But the statistic that matters more than any other reflected a lopsided advantage for UCF, which blanked Texas, 4-0, in the season opener for each team.
The loss, in the first game between the teams played in Orlando, evened the Horns’ all-time series against UCF at 2-2-0.
The Knights got the only goal they would need in the second minute of the game when senior forward Kristen Scott converted a pass from senior midfielder Darya Rajaee into the first goal of the season, beating UT goalkeeper Savannah Madden from eight yards out.
Rajaee doubled the Knights’ lead in the 41st minute when she converted a penalty kick. Just over three minutes later, Scott scored her second goal of the night to give UCF a 3-0 lead at the intermission.
Senior forward Mallory Olsson accounted for the final margin when she scored her first goal of the season in the 75th minute.
Madden mirrored her four goals allowed by collecting four saves.
Freshman midfielders Lexi Missimo and Ashlyn Miller led the Texas offense with two shots apiece. Miller was the only Longhorn with two shots on goal.
The Longhorns will try to even their record in Gainesville, Fla., at 11 a.m. (Central time) Sunday when they face the Florida Gators in a game that can be seen on the SEC Network. Florida also lost its opener, a 2-1 setback Thursday at South Florida.
