SMU W-Soccer Ends Season
{fshare id=5694}
ORLANDO, Fla. (SMU) – The SMU women’s soccer team’s season came to a close on Sunday afternoon, as they fell to the 19th-ranked UCF Knights, 4-0, in the American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinals at the UCF Soccer Complex in Orlando, Florida.
The Mustangs, the nine seed in the conference tournament, concluded their season with a 7-14-0 overall record, including a 2-7-0 mark in the conference.
UCF (16-3-0, 8-1-0 The American), seeded first, jumped out to an early lead, tallying three goals in the first ten minutes of the game.
“They got behind us right away,” said Head Coach Chris Petrucelli. “They were good. Bottom line is that they were good.”
Junior Ashley Spivey opened up the scoring for UCF in the third minute, putting away a loose ball from inside the six. In the ninth minute, senior Kayla Darden headed in a free kick to extend the Knights’ lead to 2-0. Just a minute later, Spivey netted her second score of the contest, slipping a shot into the lower right corner of the net.
After the early flurry of goals, the Mustang defense amped up its pressure and bottled up the potent UCF attack, as they allowed only one goal in the remaining 80 minutes. SMU was able to create several turnovers and frustrated the Knights’ offense.
“That was the approach we wanted,” Petrucelli said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen until we were down three goals. They’re a great team. To go down three, it’s a long way back.”
In the 43rd minute, UCF was able to extend its lead four, as Carlin Huegli found the back of the net just before halftime.
In the second half, the Mustangs created a bit more offense than they did in the opening segment, recording three shots while conceding only four shots to the Knights.
The best chance for the Mustangs came in the 49th minute, when senior Olivia Elliott had a free kick from 30 yards out. However, Elliott’s attempt missed high.
The UCF defense would then thwart any scoring opportunity for SMU and the Knights would hold on for the 4-0 victory.
UCF outshot the Mustangs, 13-4. Sophomores Kelsey Gorney and Taylor Jackson both recorded shots on goal for SMU, while senior goalkeeper Lauryn Bodden tallied three saves in net.
Seniors Bodden, Elliott and Rikki Clarke all played in their final game for SMU.
“They [the seniors] were good. They gave it everything they had,” said Petrucelli. “We were never whole this season. We never had our full team, but everyone faces those kinds of things. The good thing is that a lot of the young players got to play a lot. I think we have a pretty bright future.”
