@CanesFutbol Drops Double OT Thriller to UCF
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami soccer team tallied three second half goals Sunday against UCF Sunday afternoon on a rain-drenched Cobb Stadium field, but fell 4-3 in double overtime.
Redshirt senior forward Erin McGovern had a pair of goals for the Hurricanes, including the equalizer in the 87th minute, and senior forward Amy Schmidt added a goal and an assist, but the Knights scored the golden goal in the second overtime session.
“First 45 minutes, we didn’t show up at all, that’s all it was. The second half was the way our team plays,” Miami head coach Mary-Frances Monroe said. “We put ourselves [between] a rock and a hard place, going down three goals. That’s pretty difficult to come back from, but I’m really proud of the team coming back to score three great goals.”
UCF (3-1-0) junior forward Carol Rodrigues opened the scoring in the 11th minute, when she headed in a free kick off the foot of sophomore defender Saga Fredriksson. In the 20th minute it was redshirt senior forward Madison Barney who scored an unassisted goal.
The Knights, receiving votes in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, made it 3-0 in the 27th minute when freshman forward Jessica Taylor flicked in a long pass from Rodrigues.
Miami (0-3-0) held strong the rest of the half and then came out with a new sense of intensity and urgency following a lightning delay that held up the start of the second session.
The Hurricanes got on the board in in the 56th minute when junior midfielder/defender Gianna Dal Pozzo sent a free kick into the box and McGovern tapped it into the net.
Miami still trailed 3-1 entering the final 10 minutes, but the team continued to battle. Schmidt scored the second goal of her college career off a stellar individual effort in the 83rd minute to bring Miami within one.
Schmidt then contributed on the Hurricanes’ 87th minute goal, when she crossed the ball into McGovern, who buried it in the back of the net to send the Miami bench into a frenzy.
“She came up big,” Monroe said of McGovern, who has already tied her goal tally from 2014. “We asked our captains to step up and definitely being a senior, Erin shows by example. I think her getting those two goals [showed] that she was prepared and ready to fight and win.”
Redshirt sophomore Catalina Perez came on in goal for Miami following the first half and was stellar, making a number of key saves, and the UCF match-winner would not come easily against her. Perez first blocked away a pair of shots from close range before redshirt junior defender Carlin Huegli took the rebound off the second one and passed it to senior midfielder Ashley Spivey, who scored to give the Knights the win in the 104th minute.
This marked the fourth-straight match between Miami and UCF decided by one goal or via penalty kicks.
The Hurricanes will be back in action Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 p.m. when they take on Florida Atlantic (3-0-0) in the Owls’ first home match of 2015.
To learn more about the University of Miami soccer team, follow @CanesFutbol.
