Knight Cap: Men’s Soccer in Top 5 to start Sun Belt play

This past week of UCF Knights sports was highlighted by the final non-conference games for both UCF Soccer programs before a historic week ahead.

Plus we name the Knight of the Week and Knights Play of the Week in your Knight Cap for Monday, September 11, 2023.

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Volleyball finishes home stand with pair of wins

The UCF Volleyball team made history and faced a bit of adversity over the weekend as they took on Florida State and North Texas for the UCF Invitational.

First, the Knights swept the Seminoles in three sets for the first time in program history on Wednesday. The Knights followed up with a come-from-behind five-set win over North Texas to improve to 8-1 on the season.

The Knights will conclude its non-conference schedule later in the week with the Boilermaker Challenge in West Lafayette, Indiana. They will face host No. 17 Purdue on Thursday at 8 p.m., followed by Illinois at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Both matches will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

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Women’s Soccer Earns a Shutout Victory in the War on I-4

In a matchup that is now rare due to the move to the Big 12, the UCF Women's Soccer team defeated the USF Bulls, 2-0.

The Knights’ two goals came late in the game, with Chloe Netzel scoring in the 72nd minute and Ellie Moreno not long after in the 74th minute.

Leading the way for the Knights was goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle. She faced 11 shots, five of which were on goal, and made four saves in order to secure the shutout. With the shutout, she now sits in fourth all-time in career shutouts for a UCF goalkeeper.

With the win, the Knights close conference play at 4-2. The team will start its Big 12 schedule at the UCF Soccer Complex on Thursday at 6 p.m. against West Virginia.

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Men’s Soccer Reaches Top 5 after win over Brown

The #6-ranked UCF Men’s Soccer team concluded non-conference play Saturday night with a 2-0 win over Brown to improve to 4-0-1 on the season.

Lucca Dourado scored his 3rd goal of the season in the 49th minute. Anderson Rosa scored via penalty kick in the 80th minute.

Thanks to the victory, the Knights moved up into a tie with Louisville for the #5 spot in the United Soccer Coaches’ poll. It sets up the first-ever Top 5 matchup in program history as they host #4 West Virginia at 6 p.m. on Friday.

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Women’s Golf debuts with Top 5 Finish

The UCF Women’s Golf team marked the beginning of its 2023-24 campaign with a Top 5 finish at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, South Carolina.

The Knights hit 829 (-23), as a team, only coming behind #3 Ole Miss, #1 LSU and #28 Clemson. Among those the Knights beat include #23 Kentucky, #18 Georgia and #19 Florida (rankings per Golfweek).

Leading the way individually for the Knights were sophomore Pimpisa “Sandwich Sisutham and true freshman Molly Smith, who both came away with Top 5 individual finishes. Sisutham’s 202 (-11) netted her fourth place and a tie for the third-lowest 54-hole score in program history. Meanwhile, Smith’s 203 (-10) put her in a tie for fifth in the tournament and for the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history.

For the full results from the tournament, go to golfstat.com.

Head Coach Emily Marron, who was given a contract extension last week, will next lead the Knights to Virginia Beach, Virginia for the Princess Anne Invitational on Oct. 6-8.

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Men’s Golf Begins Fall Schedule

A trio of freshmen marked their UCF Men’s Golf team debuts with Top 25 individual finishes in the Island Resort Intercollegiate in Harris, Michigan.

Cy Norman led the way for the three, finishing 16th overall at 211 strokes. He was closely followed by Garret Ebbert, who finished in 17th with 212. One stroke behind him, at 213, came Hans Risvaer, who took home a 21st-place finish.

However, neither Norman nor junior Texas Tech transfer Gustav Andersson (214; 26th) were a part of the Knights’ five-player team roster for the tournament, instead playing as individuals.

As a team, the Knights finished tied for 8th place with Bowling Green at 860 strokes for all three rounds.

Check out the full results of all eight Knights that competed in the tournament in its individual leaderboard here.

UCF will hit the course again on Sep. 18th-19th for the Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati.

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Knight of the Week

Lauren Clark, Volleyball

A transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, Lauren Clark had a career-high 20 kills in the Knights’ 3-2 win over North Texas.

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Knights Play of the Week

Chloe Netzel’s goal puts UCF Women’s Soccer ahead of USF