Chloe Netzel recorded her third brace of young season en route to leading UCF women’s soccer to a decisive 5-0 shutout victory over Houston in the Big 12 Conference opener on Thursday night at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The senior Netzel scored the Knights’ (3-1-2, 1-0-0 Big 12) first goal of the evening in the eighth minute and later capped the scoring with her eighth goal of the season in the 71st minute. Taylor Jacobson, Edidiong Etim and Mia Asenjo all also found the back of the net on the evening for the Black and Gold.
“I’m really proud of the team. One of our goals was to inspire tonight, and I thought that we did exactly that,” head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. “Overall, it was a full and total performance. We played a lot of players, and everybody contributed. I loved our effort.”
With Asenjo racing for the ball in the box in the eighth minute, UH (3-3-1, 0-1-0 Big 12) keeper Olivia Dietrich tackled the UCF forward to the pitch which resulted in a penalty kick for the Knights. Netzel took the PK and calmly buried the ball in the bottom left corner for her seventh goal of the year.
“I think Chloe’s early goal helped set the tone for us tonight. We are a good team, and we like to have the ball. When you score an early goal, it helps you relax and play the way you want to,” Roberts Sahaydak added. “So, getting that early goal was key for us.”
