Senior forward Jazmin Grant’s goal powered UH soccer over No. 14 UCF Thursday night in the 2021 AAC opener. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar
UH soccer opened up the American Athletic Conference play with its biggest win of the season, defeating No. 14 UCF 1-0 on Thursday night at Carl Lewis International Complex.
The first 45 minutes were quiet as neither team could find the goal. As a result, the two teams went into the half scoreless.
In the 48th minute, redshirt senior forward Jazmin Grant broke the draw, scored the first and only goal of the game off an assist from graduate forward Zionah Browne. This put UH up 1-0 early in the second half.
The goal from Grant marked her second in three games for the Cougars.
This makes this the sixth game of the season where Browne has assisted or scored on a goal. Browne continues to lead the team in total assists.
Several close shots were taken down the stretch for the Knights, but the Cougars held strong and made the stops needed to secure the 1-0 win.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Mikaela Gracia continues her strong 2021 campaign, posting another clean sheet in the contest to make it five in a row.
“It always feels good to win the conference opener, it feels even better when you’re playing a nationally ranked team and really a national powerhouse in UCF,” said UH head coach Diego Bocanegra. “Soccer’s all about matchups, I felt really good about this coming in because their style of play and our style of play matches up well. I think we were the better team tonight.”
