TEMPE – Looking to conclude its seven-match homestand unbeaten, UCF played spoiler on Sunday, Sept. 28, when the Knights visited Sun Devil Soccer Stadium and left for Orlando with a 3-2 win over Arizona State and did not allow the Sun Devils to add to its point total in the Big 12 Conference standings.
Liz Worden, in her first season at UCF, broke the 0-0 tie less than 20 seconds before the 20-minute mark of the first half with a strike from out the 18-yard box. The one-goal difference stood for the duration of the first half and carried over for the first six minutes of the second half, too, until Arizona State defender Lucy Fazackerley tied the match with a header into the back of the net.
Less than two minutes later, UCF re-took a one-goal lead when Gabi Berchon sent a direct free kick, from less than a foot outside the 18-yard box, into the upper-right corner of the goal. The Knights extended their lead by a goal 16 minutes later when Worden connected with Rajanah Reed, who sent a shot into the frame.
Trailing 3-1 with less than 15 minutes in regulation, first-year Sun Devil Tatum Thomason cut the deficit when she flicked a pass from Tano Uzezi-Itesa past UCF’s goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson. Arizona State went on to apply consistent offensive pressure throughout the remainder of the match but was unable to put the equalizer on the scoreboard.
FROM HEAD COACH GRAHAM WINKWORTH
“I’m just disappointed right now. I thought – during the first half – we didn’t match their energy, which was disappointing because that’s not been us all season long. So, I’m going to be looking for a response from the team there. But no, overall, I’m just disappointed with the energy we displayed in the first half; happy with the energy – not so much the quality – but happy with the energy in the second half.”
MATCH NOTES
- Liz Worden’s goal at the 19:40 mark of the first half to give UCF a 1-0 lead marked the first time Arizona State trailed in a game since Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, when Texas State took an early 1-0 advantage less than eight minutes into its match against the Sun Devils.
- Arizona State freshman Tano Uzezi-Itesa was credited with her second career assist when she connected with Tatum Thomason for the Sun Devils’ second goal on the afternoon at the 76-minute mark of the contest. It’s the first assist for Uzezi-Itesa since having one at Texas State on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025.
- Sunday afternoon’s match marked the third time this season first-year Sun Devil Tatum Thomason scored a goal and was credited with an assist during the same match.
UP NEXT
Arizona State (8-1-2, 1-1-1) will now leave the friendly confines of Tempe, Ariz., where the Sun Devils have played seven straight home matches, to start a three-game road slate that will begin on Thursday, Oct. 2, when ASU travels to Cincinnati to play the Bearcats (2-4-5, 0-2-1) at 4 p.m. MST. The match will be the first away from Sun Devil Soccer Stadium for Arizona State since Thursday, Aug. 28, when the Sun Devils knocked off UNLV, 3-0, in Las Vegas.
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