Women's soccer falls hard to UCF

For the first time this season the Arizona State women's soccer team went down in defeat as the 19th-ranked Sun Devils were upset by UCF 5-0 during day two of the Cats Classic hosted by the University of Arizona.

Sunday's loss to the Knights (5-2-1) ended ASU's seven-game unbeaten streak, which was the second-longest such streak to start a season in school history. The Sun Devils were also held scoreless for the first time this season.

The final statistics belied the actual outcome as each team recorded 15 shots while the Sun Devils (6-1-1) held a slight 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

The Knights jumped on top a little more than four minutes into the game when UCF senior forward Kim Newsome maneuvered her way into a one-on one situation and scored on a shot fired into the right post.

UCF would extend its lead to 2-0 in the 34th minute following a goal by freshman Katy Ling, which she scored on a rebound.

Any hopes the Sun Devils had of staging a rally during the early minutes of the second half were dashed when UCF sophomore forward Tishia Jewell scored the Knights' third goal of the game less than two minutes into the second stanza.

The Knights would add goals in the 69th and 76th minutes to make the final count 5-0.

Senior midfielder Alexandra Elston (four shots) and freshman midfielder Holland Crook (three shots) led the Sun Devils in shots while ASU goalkeepers Alyssa Gillmore (one save) and Vittoria Arnold (five saves) combined to make six saves.

The Sun Devils will stay on the road next week when they travel to the state of California for games at Long Beach State (Friday, 4 p.m.) and at Pepperdine (Sunday, 1 p.m.).