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NCAA women's tournament Central Florida stuns No. 9 Florida 3-2 in first round.GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Friday, November 12, 2004) -- It took virtually no time for the first seeded team to be eliminated from the NCAA tournament's first round. Central Florida stunned No. 9 Florida, the 10th seed, 3-0 at rainy James G. Pressly Stadium this afternoon. Goals by Courtney Baines, Jennifer Montgomery and Kendra Flock in a 12-minute period spanning intermission staked the Golden Knights (17-3-2) to a three-goal advantage before a furious Florida rally in the final nine minutes fell short. UCF won for the first time in nine meeting with the Gators (16-4-3). "What a great game. We scored some incredible goals. I think we hit a post in another one," UCF coach Amanda Cromwell said, "This was one of those games that I was never comfortable with a 3-0 lead because I know that attacking ability of Florida and I know their athleticism, and it showed. They scored two goals in a four-minute span with 10 minutes to go in the game. I was very thankful that we had a three-goal cushion, but at the same time, Florida never gave up and showed a lot of heart and class with that." The game took a precipitous turn in the Knights' favor when Flock was fouled in the Gators' penalty area by Ashley Harris. Baines converted her fourth penalty kick of the season for a 1-0 lead with 42:57 elapsed. Florida took two shots within the first two minutes of the second half, but Montgomery's unassisted tally put UCF ahead 2-0 at 53:53. It took the Knights only 22 second to increase the advantage to 3-0 when Flock headed home Baines' corner kick. Kate McCain hit the crossbar for the Knights before Florida rallied. Stephanie Freeman narrowed the Gators' deficit to 3-1 with a free kick at 81:12. Monica Hoyles made it 3-2, scoring off a pass from Jasmine Johnson. |
