Houston’s senior forward Cameryn Maddox dribbles the ball against the UCF Knights on Sunday, Oct. 19, in Houston, Texas.|Emma Christensen/The Cougar
On a hot and windy Homecoming afternoon, the Houston Cougars fought to a 1–1 draw against UCF, holding their position at ninth in the conference with a 2–3–3 record.
UCF struck first just 13 minutes into the match after a handball call on Houston set up a free kick that led to a goal off the rebound.
Houston’s coach Ben Williams noted after the game that the team continues to work on defending set-piece situations, which have been a recurring challenge in several of Houston’s close losses and draws this season.
Despite facing one of the toughest defensive units they’ve seen all year, Houston managed to find an equalizer early in the second half.
Freshman forward Samira Minor executed a smooth give-and-go with junior Adelhia Ghonda down the left flank before lofting a perfectly placed shot from beyond 18 yards out to level the score at 1–1.
From there, both teams battled to break the deadlock. Junior forward Jocelyn Chinea led several key counterattacks while also shutting down multiple UCF pushes along the right flank.
Meanwhile, graduate goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez made a strong return from injury, recording two saves after conceding the early goal.
UCF’s defense held firm, limiting Houston to only three shots on goal and a single corner kick, which is the fewest Houston has earned all season, and their lowest total since facing No. 13 Texas Tech.
“We want to continue to work hard as a team and put together a full 90 minutes,” Minor said. “Today was a step in the right direction.”
With three matches remaining in the regular season, Houston will continue its push to crack the conference’s top eight when they host Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
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