MIAMI – Women's soccer is set to host No. 13 UCF on Thursday, September 3 at 6 p.m., the second ranked program the Panthers will host this season.

Thursday, September 3 at 6 p.m.

• Time / Site: 6 p.m. / Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium

• Presented by Baptist Health, The Official Sports Medicine Provider of FIU Athletics

FIU is coming off its first winning result of 2026 that saw the Panthers beat Howard in a 5-1 result. Four different Panthers scored, highlighted by redshirt senior Maya Maxwell's six-point performance that included a brace and two assists, as well as her first game-winning goal of her career. Additionally, seniors Mariana Barreto and Leyla Molina scored their first goals in a Panther uniform, and freshman Yuzu Tanida scored her second of the young season.

Game Preview

This will be the second season in a row FIU will play the Knights, with the Panthers making the trip up to Orlando last season and stealing a victory from UCF, 1-0. 

The Panthers' contest against Howard proved to be an offensive onslaught, with FIU now owning six goal scorers on the season, led by freshman Yuzu Tanida and senior Maya Maxwell. Maxwell also leads the team in points with six so far, all coming against the Bison. Her performance earned Maxwell her first career CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honor. 

Maxwell, along with Mariana Barreto, now leads the team in assists, with Adria Kitzinger also dishing out one assist on the young season on Yuzu Tanida's first goal of the year. 

Senior goalkeeper Valery Restrepo comes into the contest with 21 saves on the season, tying a career-high with eight saves in FIU's draw at FGCU. Allowing just one goal against Howard, Restrepo lowered her Goals Against Average to 1.83 with four matches left until conference-play begins. 

Scouting the Knights

UCF is coming off a 2025 season that saw them go 12-4-5 overall, with a 5-1-5 record in the Big-12, ending the season sixth in the conference. The Knights would go on to drop their quarterfinals matchup against Colorado in the Big-12 tournament, but got an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, winning one match against Maine (2-0), before dropping their second round match to Duke, 1-0.

2026 has seen the Knights build off their positive 2025 season, starting their newest campaign a perfect 4-0, beating the likes of Florida, LSU and USF. 

UCF is led by star forward Naomi Clark, with the senior tied for seventh in the country in goals scored with six and eighth in the country in points with 14. Additionally, Clark is tied for second on the Knights with two assists thus far. Midfielder Ainsley Moy leads UCF in assists with three in 2026.

UCF has seen two Knights between the posts this season, with Ansley Ittel taking the majority of the goalkeeping reps with three matches started and played, coming into the contest with a 0.67 GAA, four saves and one shutout.

Match Notes

The Panthers are 5-29-3 all-time against UCF, with FIU's most recent win coming in 2025.

This is the first time FIU will host UCF since the 2015 season when the Panthers played then-ranked No. 20 UCF, dropping the contest 1-0.

This is the third match this season against a ranked opponent, with the last time the Panthers playing three ranked teams in one season being 2015.

The Panthers' back-to-back matches against then-ranked No. 4 Florida State and No. 2 Duke was the first time in program history FIU played top-5 teams in consecutive matches.

Social Media

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