UCF (17-4-2) advanced to the second round for the sixth-consecutive year and will face Florida in Gainesville on Friday at a yet-to-be-announced time.

Late heroics by defender Ashley Nicol, who scored her sixth goal of the season off a diving header with less than six minutes in regulation, sent the match to overtime. UCF topped Miami in overtime earlier this season, but neither team budged an inch Saturday through 20 minutes of extra play, forcing a shootout.

Freshman Allie Gerry put the game away with UCF’s last penalty kick as fans erupted on the sideline and her teammates piled around her in euphoria.

“I was very impressed with the PKs. They all tucked in nicely,” UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “To battle like we did, that game was tough in a lot of ways. Miami is a very athletic team with a very long throw-in that causes a lot of problems.”

Although Nicolette Radovcic nearly put UCF on the scoreboard in the first five minutes with a 1v1 opportunity with UM’s keeper, Miami would end up striking first.

The Hurricanes snapped the Knights’ seven-match shutout streak when Shannon McCarthy’s long throw in found Kate Howarth inside the box. She headed it on to Ally Andreini on the far post, and Andreini headed it in for a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.

The Knights got a jolt of life with their first corner kick in the 32nd minute as Andrea Rodrigues sent a short pass to Radovcic, whose cross connected with defender Marissa Diggs on the far post, but her header was saved.

Goalkeeper Lianne Maldonado came up with two huge saves off attempts by Howarth in the 74th minute, allowing the Knights to stay on the Canes’ heels.

“Lianne is the reason we were still in the game, 1-0, so I can’t say enough about her play tonight,” Cromwell said.

UCF couldn’t capitalize on several scoring opportunities in the second half until midfielder Madison Barney forwarded a ball to the far post, where Nicol sent a diving header past the keeper to tie the game 1-1 in the 84th minute.

“During warmup, I kept hitting my headers high. Coach said you have to hit them low,” Nicol said. “So right when Madi headed it, I envisioned diving for it.”

Radovcic had two good looks at goal during the first overtime period, but neither found the back of the net, and the teams lined up at midfield to settle the game in a shootout.

Tishia Jewell, Jennifer Martin, Nicol and Radovcic all finished their attempts with finesse to take a 4-3 advantage when Miami’s Andreini stepped up for her attempt. Her shot hit the crossbar, and Gerry came out on top to end the game and keep UCF’s postseason alive.

To recap the weekend, the Knights netted 12 goals, outshot their opponents 44-6 and limited the Pirates and the Herd to two corners combined. In addition, senior Tishia Jewell tied the program’s career record for shots with 229.

“I think now we have good momentum, and we just want to keep it going and show teams the best we can be,” Jewell said.

Added defender Ashley Nicol: “From here on out, every day is senior day.”

Forward Jennifer Martin gave the Knights a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Carleigh Williams sent a free kick into the box where Martin placed a header just below the crossbar for her second game-winner of the year.

Forty-three seconds later, UCF capitalized off another header – this time from Nicol. Jewell played a ball to midfielder Andrea Rodrigues, who delivered a cross from the left side to Nicol for the score.

Kayla Darden increased the lead to 3-0 just before halftime when Zoe Hayes sent her a pass from midfield, allowing Darden to send a low-driven ball to the far post past the keeper.

Forward Kristina Trujic notched her second goal of the weekend in the 60th minute while inside the box thanks to a double-assist from Nicol and Jewell.

Senior forward Nicolette Radovcic wrapped up the match nicely in the 83rd minute after classmate Bianca Joswiak sent her a ball, which she flicked around the defender inside the box and put it past the keeper for her 10th goal of the year.

“The attack has been great — a lot of movement and creativity up top,” UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “The seniors came up big in a lot of different ways with assists, playmaking and goals. Getting the shutout was huge, as well.”

The four seniors left the game with five minutes remaining to rousing applause from the crowd and entered a receiving line of hugs on the sideline.

UCF will play its final match of the regular season Friday at 5 p.m. at Southern Miss. The Knights closed their home schedule with a 9-2 record at the UCF Soccer Complex. The pink jerseys will be auctioned online via UCFAthletics.com.

Jewell capitalized on a free kick opportunity reminiscent of junior Ashley Nicol’s insurance goal in Friday’s win over Dartmouth.

“She came through,” UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “She’s very dangerous on those. Obviously set plays are huge for us with Ash scoring on Friday on a free kick. Our girls were ready to score. I think we dominated that game in many areas, and Georgia’s coach after the game was very classy and said, `You guys deserved it.'”

For her efforts, Jewell was named the tournament’s offensive most valuable player. UCF defender Madison Barney, who helped the Knights secure two shutouts this weekend, was named the tournament’s defensive MVP. The pair joined senior forward Nicolette Radovcic and junior defender Ashley Nicol on the all-tournament team.

Meeting for the first time since 1998, UCF (5-1-0) and Georgia (4-2-0) played through a scoreless 90 minutes despite the Knights’ numerous chances at the net. UCF out-shot the Bulldogs 20-6, as 14 of those shots came on goal.

Time and again, Georgia goalkeeper Ashley Baker managed to find her way in front of the ball, notching eight saves in the first period, another four in the second period and one in overtime.

“I think (the win) shows that we grind it out as a team,” Jewell said. “We had chances to put the game away and we didn’t finish them, but we kept going until we got one.”

Battling not only the Bulldogs, but sun and fatigue as well, UCF finally broke through with less than a minute remaining in the extra period when the Knights drew a foul for a free-kick opportunity just outside the left corner of the box.

As Jewell lined up for the shot, Cromwell knelt on the sidelines and said she told assistant coach Joshua S. Walters, Sr., that now would be the perfect time for the senior to score her first goal of the year.

Baker got a hand on Jewell’s attempt on the goal line but wasn’t able to hang onto the ball, and the Knights walked away with their first win over Georgia in program history. In the process, UCF extended its winning-streak to three-straight games and improved its record to 2-0 in overtime contests this year.

The Knights will travel to Boston College on Sept. 9 to face the Eagles for the first time since 2004.

Season tickets are available for UCF’s remaining home games, beginning at $30. A complimentary soccer scarf comes with each purchase. The Gold Pass, which includes season tickets to all volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball, softball and track and field contests, is also available now. For more information and to place an order, call the UCF Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com.

All-Tournament Team

“Tonight we were creating chances and getting corner kicks and knocking on the door early. The back line and Lianne (Maldonado) did very well even though we didn’t get the shutout,” UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “We knew it was important to start the season off well because we have a lot of tough games on the schedule, and this gives us a lot of confidence going forward. In hearing some of the results around the country tonight, there are some crazy scores, a lot of upsets. This year is going to be one of those years that anyone can beat anybody. We’ve got to be ready to battle a very good Florida Gulf Coast team on Sunday.”

The Knights attacked early and sophomore forward Jennifer Martin was able to capitalize after being taken down inside the box to draw a penalty kick. She found her way past the keeper, putting UCF on the board in the 26th minute for a 1-0 lead.

The Knights came out strong in the second half when Kayla Darden found freshman Taylor Townsend, who left-footed a laser from outside the box into the top left-hand corner of the net to increase UCF’s edge to 2-0 with 30 minutes left.

USF got back into the game with a free kick opportunity when Marsha Harper headed in a goal off an assist from Sharla Passariello with 14 minutes remaining, but UCF junior Ashley Nicol would give the Knights some breathing room with her first career goal with less than eight minutes to go to seal the victory.

“That was a huge goal,” Cromwell said. “Ashley has been working on those free kicks since last year. She bends a nice ball. She was able to put it over the wall, she curved it up and over and got it down near the post. It’s the type of goal you would see on a highlight reel.”

The Knights continue their intrastate road trip to Fort Myers where they will meet reigning Atlantic Sun champion Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Season tickets are available for UCF’s 11 home games, beginning at $30. This year’s purchase comes with a complimentary soccer scarf to wear to the games. To purchase, call (407) UCF-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com.

The Knights dominated FIU (13-7-3) for 90 minutes Friday, and received goals from junior Tishia Jewell (Satellite Beach, Fla.) and redshirt freshman Emily Grider (Fort Worth, Texas). UCF finished with a 20-8 shot advantage, and only allowed two shots on goal.

UCF will face Florida on Nov. 18 in Gainesville.

“I think we played pretty well. It was one of our most complete games of the season,” UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell said. “But I think we pretty much dominated the 90 minutes with shots and corners. I can’t say enough about the leadership. It was a very complete game. I think we have that feeling that we are peaking at the right time.”

Jewell was active all evening and recorded nine shots in 81 minutes. She gave the hosts a 1-0 advantage 14 minutes into the match when she took a pass from senior Aline Reis (Campinas, Brazil) and sprinted past several FIU defenders and blasted a shot past Kaitlyn Savage. The assist was the first career helper for Reis, who is in her fourth year as UCF’s starting goalkeeper.

“I did not even believe it,” Reis said. “That was the first time I ever got an assist here and it was amazing. It was a great goal. Tish knows how to finish that.”

Jewell also assisted on Grider’s goal in the 76th minute. After a long shot from Jewell was knocked away by Savage, a cutting Grider tapped in the rebound for her second score of the year.

Reis totaled a pair of saves in the win. FIU rarely threatened to score, but Reis did make an excellent, leaping save on long free kick from April Perry in the first half.

The Knights started the match aggressively, and totaled nine shots in the first half. Reis, sophomores Marissa Diggs (Rowlett, Texas) and Ashley Nicol (Jacksonville, Fla.) and freshman Madison Barney (Sammamish, Wash.) played all 90 minutes in the victory.

Savage totaled six saves in the losing effort.

The Knights are making their 16th appearance in the NCAA Championship, which is the most among any program in Florida.

UCF improved to 27-4-3 all-time against FIU with the win. The Panthers earned a spot in the tournament after claiming the Sun Belt Championship title.

The Knights were one of 32 teams nationally selected to a host a first-round contest. A year ago the team was shipped to California for the first two rounds. In 2009, the Knights headed to Wisconsin for postseason play.

“It is huge,” Cromwell said of having the chance to host. “The program has so much history. You saw the alums after we scored the second goal, they were running out onto the field. They were in the bleachers right behind the goal. We have a lot of support from the alums.”