The UCF Knights women's soccer program represents the University of Central Florida in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Knights compete in the Big 12 Conference. UCF plays home games on its main campus in Orlando, Florida at the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium. The Knights are led by head coach (World Cup Champion and Olympic gold medalist) Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak.
UCF has a storied history in women's soccer that includes 23 Conference Tournament or Regular Season Championships. The Knights have earned 24 AIAW and NCAA Tournament Appearances (2nd most in the state of Florida), which include 5 Elite Eight appearances, 2 Final Four appearances, an AIAW National Championship Game appearance (1981), and an NCAA National Championship Game appearance (1982). Twenty-three UCF players have earned various All-American honors, including three players who were honored as Consensus All-Americans (Mary Varas, Michelle Akers x4, Karen Ricther). Akers was also awarded the Hermann Trophy, and four other Knights players have been finalists or on the watch list for the award. Fourteen former UCF players have been selected for their respective countries' national teams, including four players selected to the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. Two former UCF Players have won the FIFA Women's World Cup, and seven former Knights have appeared in FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments. Three former Knights have also played in the Olympics, with Michelle Akers winning Olympic Gold with the U.S. team in 1996 and Sarai Linder earning a Bronze Medal with the German team in 2024. Numerous former UCF players have also played for various professional soccer teams around the world, including the NWSL and several European professional leagues.
History
The Jim Rudy Era The UCF Knights Women's Soccer team first took the field in 1981 as an Independent, under the leadership of Jim Rudy. A Rollins College Men's Soccer alumnus, Rudy was the Coach of both the men's and women's side at UCF. He was known for his technical acumen as a coach, and his tactical wizardry in game planning. He was also one of the best coaches of goalkeepers at that time, with three of goalkeepers he coached going on to start for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. (Kim Wyant and Amy Allman at UCF; Briana Scurry at UMASS).
During his seven years as Coach, Rudy led UCF to five post-season appearances. This included two appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. In their first season of play, the Knights played in the AIAW Tournament (the women's national championship tournament before the NCAA recognized women's sports). UCF defeated Harvard in the Quarterfinal 2–0, then topped the University of Missouri-St. Louis in the Seminfinal 4–0, earning a berth in the AIAW Championship Game. In the final, UCF was defeated by the North Carolina Tar Heels 1–0.
In the 1982 NCAA Tournament, the Knights qualified for a first round bye, then defeated UMASS in the second round for a score of 2–1. In the semi-final game, played in Orlando, UCF defeated UCONN by a score of 3–1. The 1982 Championship Game was played on UCF's home field, but the Knights fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels by a score of 2–0. This would be the first of 22 NCAA Championships won by the Tar Heels, under the leadership of legendary Coach Anson Dorrance. The Knights dominated the individual players awards in the 1982 tournament, with UCF players earning the awards of Offensive Player of the Tournament (Mary Varas), Defensive Player of the Tournament (Linda Gancitano), and the tournament's Most Valuable Player (Goalkeeper Kim Wyant).
Rudy's overall record at UCF was 73–22–6. He also coached several UCF players to All-American honors. His best known and most accomplished player at UCF was the legendary Michelle Akers. Considered to be the best soccer player in UCF history (and one of UCF's best athletes of all time), Akers played for UCF from 1984 to 1988. During her career as a Knight, Akers scored 52 goals, 30 assists, and a team high of 134 points scored. In 1988, Akers was selected as the winner of the first Hermann Trophy (awarded to the best player in NCAA soccer for that season). Akers went on to a distinguished career with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, winning two Women's World Cups (1991, 1999) and an Olympic Gold Medal (1996). She was also selected by FIFA as one of the 100 Top Players in 20th Century Football (Soccer), one of only two women selected to that list (the other being Mia Hamm). Akers later returned to UCF as a Volunteer Assistant Coach.
After leading UCF to the final four of the NCAA Tournament once again in 1987, Rudy left UCF to become the Head Coach of at UMASS.
The Bill Barker Era After Rudy's departure, UCF Assistant Soccer Coach Bill Barker took over both the UCF Men's and Women's Soccer programs. As an assistant coach under Rudy, Barker had helped to recruit and coach outstanding talent, and this continued under his leadership as Head Coach. He would lead the Knights from 1988 to 1992, earning an overall record of 50–18–9, and leading the Knights to two more NCAA tournament appearances. After his days as a coach were done, Barker would return to UCF to work as a Planning and Knowledge Management Coordinator for the UCF College of Medicine.
During his tenure, Barker coached two future UCF Hall of Fame players: Kelly Kochevar and Karen Richter. Kochevar would score 53 goals during her time at UCF, making her the top goal scorer in program history. She would also score a hat trick in five different matches as a Knight, earning all-regional honors and selection to the Soccer America Freshman All-American Team.
Karen Richter became one of the greatest goalkeepers in NCAA history, earning NCAA Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 1990. She was also a finalist for that year's Hermann Trophy. During her three years at UCF, she only allowed 30 goals to be scored, and secured 30 shutouts (both of which are UCF records). In her Junior year, she only allowed four goals in 14 games played.
The Karen Richter Era After Bill Barker departed UCF for Georgia, former UCF player Karen Richter took over as head coach, and would lead the Knights from 1993 to 1998. She would also lead the Knights into their first conference, joining the Trans America Athletic Conference (later renamed the Atlantic Sun Conference) in 1993. Under Richter's leadership, the Knights would win four conference tournament championships and one regular season championship. She was named the TAAC Conference Coach of the Year in 1991, leading UCF to another NCAA tournament berth. Richter left UCF after the 1998 season to take over as the Head Coach at Auburn, and would go on to coach with U.S. Soccer's U16, U18, and U19 women's programs.
The Amanda Cromwell Era
After Richter's departure, Amanda Cromwell took over the UCF Women's Soccer Program, and would lead the Knights for the next fourteen seasons (1999–2012). Cromwell had been a standout player at the University of Virginia, had played on various professional squads, and made fifty-five appearances as a player with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. She had also been an Assistant Coach at Virginia and the Head Coach at UMBC before taking over the helm of UCF's program.
During her tenure with UCF, Cromwell led the Knights to an overall record of 224–83–26, which places her record in the top-30 all time in NCAA history. She led UCF to 11 NCAA tournament appearances (including the 2011 Elite Eight of the that year's tournament), nine conference championships (five tournament, four regular season championships), and eleven appearances in the top-25 rankings. This included a top-ten ranking in 2012 (#6); UCF's highest ranking in the polls in nearly two decades. Cromwell also coached 96 players who earned all-conference honors, 38 players who earned all-region selections, and several players recognized with various all-American honors.
UCF moved into Conference-USA in 2005, where the Knights record of success continued. The height of that success came in 2011, when the Knights posted 13-5-6 record and made a run to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament. During the regular season, the Knights scored five wins over ranked teams, knocked rival Florida out of the second round of the tournament, and defeated North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Wake Forest in the Elight Eight.
In Cromwell's final season with UCF (2012), UCF earned fifteen shutout victories (conference and school single-season records) and placed in the top-10 nationally in goals against average and shutout percentage. They were also ranked in the top-25 in scoring offense and won-lost-tied percentage. In what would also be UCF's final season in Conference-USA, UCF earned the conference tournament championship and their 17th NCAA tournament appearance (the latter being the most all-time amongst all of Florida's NCAA women's soccer teams). Cromwell left UCF to take over the UCLA women's soccer program.
The Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak Era The 2013 season saw major changes in the UCF Women's Soccer Program. UCF moved into the American Athletic Conference, and for the first time in fourteen years, the Knight's women's soccer program had a new Head Coach. Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak took over the Knights after a successful playing career and a tenure as Head Coach at VCU. Sayhadak's playing career saw her take part in winning two NCAA National Championships (at North Carolina), a pro league championship with the WUSA's Carolina Courage, as well as a Women's World Cup Championship and two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. Sahaydak was a "99er" (a member of the 1999 Women's World Cup Championship team), and has seen several stints as an Assistant Coach with the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. She was joined at UCF by her husband, former MLS Soccer Player Tim Sahaydak, as an Assistant Coach.
UCF's first two years in the American Athletic Conference saw the Knights win back-to-back conference titles, including an undefeated conference record in the 2013 season. The Knights also earned three straight NCAA tournament appearances, including an appearance in 2014's Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament. The 2016 season saw the Knights miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in ten seasons, but returned to success the following year with a conference title and a return to the NCAA tournament. UCF won the American conference title one more time in 2022 before transitioning to the Big 12 Conference for the 2023 season. Also in 2022, Coach Sahaydak spent a year as an assistant coach with the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team while retaining her position as UCF Head Coach.
In 2025, the Knights recorded their most successful season since joining the Big 12, going 12-4-5 overall (5-1-5 in conference play). This included a 9-game unbeaten streak in Big 12 play, and multiple wins against ranked opponents. Ten UCF players scored goals during the season, led by the duo of Liz Worden and Rajanah Reed who scored or assisted on 20 of the 30 goals UCF scored during the season. Goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson ranked in the top-20 nationally in save percentage, as she allowed only 16 goals and posted eight clean sheets on the season. The Knights made their 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance, defeating Maine in the first round before falling to Duke in the second round of the tournament.
Championships and AIAW/NCAA Tournaments