ORLANDO, Fla. - Battling wet conditions, the FGCU women’s soccer team (5-3-1) was defeated 4-0 at UCF (7-2-1) on Sunday evening in its non-conference finale. The Eagles were unable to overcome a 3-0 halftime deficit as the Knights added an insurance goal in the second half to continue their six-game unbeaten streak.

Early on in this one the Knights dominated the time of possession. UCF fired four shots before the Eagles managed their first. In the 23rd minute it was UCF who would get on the board first. Jennifer Martin of UCF sent a corner kick away from the goal towards the far post. Megan Fish headed the ball on net and past Eagles goalkeeper Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y., Greece Athena HS) for the score.

FGCU would trade shots with the Knights over the next ten minutes but it was UCF once again who would find the back of the net. In the 33rd minute, Katy Ling fired a shot which Brown saved but the rebound came out to the opportunistic foot of Lena Petermann who capitalized and tallied the second score of the game for the Knights, her second of the season.

Just over one minute later the Knights were making another run on goal. Brown would foul the runner in the box causing a penalty kick to be awarded. Petermann would step to the line and fire the shot to the left side of the net. Brown guessed correctly but the ball sailed past her outstretched arms and into the upper-left-side corner for the third UCF goal of the half.

FGCU would not mount any kind of attack for the remainder of the half while UCF continued to pressure the Eagle defense. No more scores would be registered in the opening frame however as the Knights took their 3-0 lead into the break.

The Knights, while controlling time of possession, outshot the Green and Blue 11-2 in the first half while adding an 8-1 shots-on-goal advantage. UCF also generated six corner kicks while FGCU managed none.

The second half saw the controlling play of UCF continue. The Knights would fire four shots to FGCU’s one with the last being the fourth score of the game for UCF coming in the 69th minute. Amanda Wilkin found Kristina Trujic who fired a shot from outside the box that found its way home to give UCF a commanding 4-0 lead.

From this point forward, FGCU began to apply some pressure. Tabby Tindell (Ocala Fla., Trinity Catholic HS) and Paulina Speckmaier (Miami Fla., Gulliver Prep/University of Florida) each put shots on target but were unable to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. The score would hold at a 4-0 for the remainder of the contest.

The Eagles have now suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since the 2010 season when they dropped a 3-1 result at Miami (Aug. 31) and a 2-1 game at home opposite Kent State (Sept. 3). It is also the first time the Green and Blue has been shut out since their 0-0 tie with Davidson earlier this season.

The Eagles will return home to the FGCU Soccer Complex next weekend (Sept. 27, 29) to begin defense of their Atlantic Sun title. On Friday, the Green and Blue will welcome Jacksonville at 7 p.m. The Eagles tied Jacksonville on the road during the 2012 regular season. FGCU would then defeat the Dolphins 2-0 in the opening round of the A-Sun tournament. Following that game, the Eagles will welcome in North Florida on Sunday for an afternoon matinee set to begin at 1 p.m. 

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