The UH women’s soccer team got its first taste of conference victory on Friday against the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss., but lost that momentum against Central Florida, who routed the Cougars 6-0 in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday.
The Knights (9-4-3, 4-2-2 C-USA) barraged the Cougars with 29 shots in the match, outshooting the UH offense by 18. UCF sent UH into halftime down 4-0, and the hole only deepened in the last 45 minutes of play.
Four UCF players contributed to the Knights’ scoring, including junior midfielder Brianna Schooley and junior forward Yvonne George, each with two goals.
UH sophomore midfielder Islara Rodriguez contributed five shots in the contest, but couldn’t get one into the net. The Cougars’ deficit mounted despite senior goalie Shelby Scott tying a season-high with 11 saves in the game.
The loss comes on the heels of a four-game road trip and slumps the Cougars into the second-worst record (5-9-1, 1-6-1 C-USA) in the conference.
Houston did not get its first point in conference until the Cougars defeated Southern Miss 1-0 on Friday. Junior midfielder Kaitlin Thulin gave the Cougars all the lead they needed with her first career goal, an unassisted rocket in the seventh minute of play.
Southern Miss tested Cougar defenders, tallying 19 shots in the contest, but to no avail. Scott posted her fifth shutout of the season against the Golden Eagles.
Rodriguez and junior forward Nikki Echeverria each peppered the Southern Miss goal with three of the Cougars’ 12 shots.
With three games left, the Cougars will get back on the prowl for a conference win at 5 p.m. Friday at Robertson Stadium against conference power UTEP (11-5-1, 4-3-1 C-USA) before heading to Colorado Springs, Colo. to battle the Tigers of Colorado College.
The Cougars’ regular season will end with a game against cross-town rival and conference foe Rice at Robertson Stadium on Halloween night.
The Cougars will need to claw their way into the top eight ranking in Conference USA to win a bid into the conference tournament.
