2008 Woodie Awards
UCF receives berth into NCAA tourney again
Brian Murphy
Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Sports
The UCF Women's Soccer team was not as strong this year as in 2007. The Knights finished with a lesser record and a lower seeding in the Conference USA tournament than last season. But for the second consecutive year, all that matters to the Knights is that they have received a bid into the NCAA tournament.
When the 64-team field was announced Monday, the Knights (13-5-3 overall, 7-2-2 in C-USA) found out that they will face the Miami Hurricanes in the first round on Friday. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
"It's definitely a relief seeing your school come up on the board," UCF head coach Amanda Crowmell said in a press release "You never quite know until you see it, but we had a good feeling we were getting in this year since we had some quality wins and played well throughout the season."
The Knights have now advanced to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in 10 seasons under Cromwell's guidance and for the 13th time in program history.
The Knights finished this season third in Conference USA, one year after winning the league's regular season crown. Last year in the NCAA tournament, the Knights defeated Auburn 3-1 in the first round before falling to Florida on penalty kicks.
The Knights, who are 4-4-1 all-time against the Hurricanes, would face the winner of the California/Florida match Sunday if they were to advance. The Knights defeated the Gators 1-0 earlier this season in Gainesville.
"It's a great draw," Cromwell said in a press release. "We are very familiar playing at Florida's field in the postseason. We've had some success up there. And we didn't play Miami this year so that's kind of fun to play someone new. They are a quality opponent, and we know we will have to prepare a lot this week. We are really looking forward to Friday."
Obviously, the Knights are trying to go as far as they can in this year's tournament, but after last season's second-round loss, the Knights are focused on a trip to the Sweet 16 round.
"It's been a pretty good season," senior Hanna Wilde said in a press release. "[To get to the Sweet 16], we just have to play a whole 90 minutes, because there hasn't really been a game where we have played the best that we can for the full 90."
When the 64-team field was announced Monday, the Knights (13-5-3 overall, 7-2-2 in C-USA) found out that they will face the Miami Hurricanes in the first round on Friday. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
"It's definitely a relief seeing your school come up on the board," UCF head coach Amanda Crowmell said in a press release "You never quite know until you see it, but we had a good feeling we were getting in this year since we had some quality wins and played well throughout the season."
The Knights have now advanced to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in 10 seasons under Cromwell's guidance and for the 13th time in program history.
The Knights finished this season third in Conference USA, one year after winning the league's regular season crown. Last year in the NCAA tournament, the Knights defeated Auburn 3-1 in the first round before falling to Florida on penalty kicks.
The Knights, who are 4-4-1 all-time against the Hurricanes, would face the winner of the California/Florida match Sunday if they were to advance. The Knights defeated the Gators 1-0 earlier this season in Gainesville.
"It's a great draw," Cromwell said in a press release. "We are very familiar playing at Florida's field in the postseason. We've had some success up there. And we didn't play Miami this year so that's kind of fun to play someone new. They are a quality opponent, and we know we will have to prepare a lot this week. We are really looking forward to Friday."
Obviously, the Knights are trying to go as far as they can in this year's tournament, but after last season's second-round loss, the Knights are focused on a trip to the Sweet 16 round.
"It's been a pretty good season," senior Hanna Wilde said in a press release. "[To get to the Sweet 16], we just have to play a whole 90 minutes, because there hasn't really been a game where we have played the best that we can for the full 90."
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