Maine Faces No. 7 Seed UCF in NCAA Women’s Soccer First Round on Friday

Overview

• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday in Orlando in the programs’ first meeting.
• UMaine earned the automatic berth as a No. 4 seed by winning the America East title on penalties after upsetting New Hampshire and top seed Binghamton.
• UCF enters at 11-3-5 in its sixth NCAA appearance under coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak and is hosting an NCAA match for the first time since 2017.
• The Knights feature All-Big 12 standouts including scorer Liz Worden and goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson, whose 0.79 goals-against average anchors a top conference defense.
• UMaine coach Scott Atherley stressed compact shape, wide play and set-piece defending against UCF’s high press and counters, with forward Emma Nicholson expected to return and freshman Elena Barenberg in goal.