No. 19 Tech, No. 25 UCF open Big 12 slate in Orlando

Thursday, September 17

Orlando, FL

6 p.m. (CT)

Texas Tech Athletics

No. 25 UCF

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No. 19 Tech, No. 25 UCF open Big 12 slate in Orlando

September 16, 2026 | Women's Soccer

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Tech will seek its first all-time win vs. UCF (0-2-1) overall and first win in Orlando (0-1-1)

By: Andrew Stern

ORLANDO – After closing the regular season in 2025, RV/No. 19 Texas Tech Soccer and No. 25/NR UCF meet Thursday night for the Big 12 Conference opener in Orlando. First touch from the UCF Soccer Complex is set for 7 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (CT).

One of three schools the Red Raiders have yet to defeat (BYU, Colorado) since they joined the league ahead of the 2023 season, Tech enters the matchup in Orlando riding high after back-to-back impressive wins over San Diego State and Kent State.

Riding the nation's third-longest (12 matches; 6-0-6 overall) unbeaten streak and the Power Four's longest unbeaten streak, Tech will look to win their 50th contest since the start of the 2023 season and their 29th Big 12 contest over the same span.

Tech enters the week, 49-9-15 (.774) overall since the start of the 2023 season and are 28-3-10 (.805) in league fixtures the last four seasons. Tech's 49 total wins are the sixth-most in the Power Four, while the Red Raiders 28 total Big 12 wins are the fourth-most in the P4, trailing just Michigan State (32), Florida State (30) and TCU (29).

The Red Raiders are also unbeaten (4-0-3) over their last eight league openers and will open on the road for the third straight year.

That streak began with a scoreless home tie against Baylor (0-0) and also includes a 7-0 win over Oklahoma (2021), a 1-1 draw against WVU (2022), a 3-0 drubbing over Houston (2023) as well as 0-0 draw in Fort Worth to kick off the 2024 league slate. Tech opened Big 12 play, 1-0 a season ago, after downing Baylor by a 1-0 scoreline.

Head coach Tom Stone is 10-4-5 (.658) in his previous 19 Big 12 openers including being unbeaten in seven-straight conference openers.

Thursday's match also proves to be a key RPI opportunity for Stone and the Red Raiders who enter the week at 25 overall in the RPI, the fourth-best mark in the Big 12. UCF enters at 32 overall in the metric, providing Tech with a key Quad-One opportunity.

The Big 12 features 10 teams ranked inside the top-60 highlighted by Baylor's No. 5 ranking. Of the top-nine teams (minus Tech) in the RPI in Big 12, Tech plays all eight, as the Red Raiders are tied with Clemson, Stanford and Virginia for the second-most top-50

RPI teams on their league schedule in the country. Only California (9) plays more top-50 teams.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: RV/No. 19 Texas Tech (4-0-3, 0-0-0 Big 12) at UCF (5-1-0, 0-0-0 Big 12)
DATE: Thursday, Sept. 18
TIME: 7 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (CT)
LOCATION: Orlando, Fla. (UCF Soccer Complex)

BY THE NUMBERS:
49: One of the best and most consistent programs in the country the last four seasons, Tech enters the fifth week of the 2026 season sitting at 49-9-15 (.774) over the programs last 73 matches (since the start of the 2023 season). Only five schools nationally have more wins than Tech over that span: Stanford (62), Florida State (57), North Carolina (54), Miss State (50) and Wake Forest (50). Tech leads the Big 12 over that pan.

28: Over the past four conference seasons (202-25), Tech is second in the Big 12 Conference in total wins (28), notching three more wins than third-place WVU (25). TCU is the only Big 12 team with more wins (29). The Red Raiders 28-3-10 (.805) in Big 12 play over that span (41 matches) and are the only team in the Big 12 with three straight seven-plus win seasons. Tech's three losses in league play are also the fewest in the league, one clear of TCUs four total losses.

50: While putting the ball in the back of the net is the name of the game, scoring twice has been critical for the Red Raiders success as since the start of the 2022 season, the Red Raiders are now 50-0-1 (lone tie at No. 7 BYU in 2023) when scoring two goals. When you expand that mark out to the beginning of the 2021 season, Tech is 59-2-1 when scoring twice in a match. The Red Raiders have won 29-straight when scoring twice.

LAST TIME OUT:
Behind three strikes in the first 15 minutes and 43 seconds, NR/No. 22 Texas Tech downed Kent State 3-0 in front of another record crowd (3181) at the John Walker Soccer Complex.

On Senior Night, it was the Texas Tech (4-0-3) seniors that combined for the final two strikes in the ninth and 16th minutes.

After another perfect free kick service from center back Eleanor Hays skipped through the box and past Kent State's (1-4-2) Leah Shaffer for a 50-yard banger goal, it was the longest tenured Red Raider, Kaitlyn Giametta who scored her first two goals of the season, recording her first career brace.

The first goal, a screamer after a pair of picture-perfect passes from Kylie Bahr and Storie Sexton, was Giametta's first goal since last Aug. 14 at San Diego State.

Not satisfied with the two-goal lead, Giametta put the bow on a perfect Senior Night when she buried her second goal of the night after a pair of great feeds from Bahr and fellow senior Taylor Zdrojewski.

The two-goal performance was Giametta's first career brace and improved Tech to 50-0-1 when scoring twice in the last 51 contests and to 59-2-1 when scoring twice since 2021.

In the win, goalkeeper Addie Todd made two easy stops to record her fourth clean sheet of the season and first since a 2-0 win over Boise State back on Aug. 23.

Tech outshot KSU 17-3 overall and took all five corners that were attempted on Friday night.

With the overall victory, Tech won its 49th contest since the start of the 2023 season which entering the week would tie the Red Raiders for fourth in the country with Mississippi State and Wake Forest.

Tech also extended its unbeaten streak to 12-in-a-row (6-0-6) which is currently the second-longest streak in the country behind UNCWs nations-leading 18 (12-0-6).

The Red Raiders also improved 17-0-2 at the John Walker Soccer Complex in non-con play since the 2022 season and are now 11-0-4 at Ft. Walker since 2024 and are 39-1-2- in non-conference play at home since a 2016 home loss to No. 19 Cal.

QUICK KICKS:
• RV/No. 19 Texas Tech opens Big 12 play on Thursday night when it travels to No. 25/NR UCF Thursday night. First touch from Orlando is set for 7 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (CT).
• The Red Raiders enter the week as one of 27 unbeaten teams and one of 24 teams unbeaten (with a draw). The Red Raiders join conference foes Kansas State (4-0-3) and West Virginia (5-0-1) amongst the 27 unbeaten teams in the country.
• When Tech heads to Orlando it will seek its first all-time win against UCF as after dropping the first all-time matchup in 1996 against the Knights, Tech and UCF have played to draws in the two all-time matchups as Big 12 foes. In 2023, Tech and UCF battled to a 1-1 draw as the Red Raiders needed to come-from-behind to split the points with UCF.
• A season ago, the Red Raiders and Knights played to a scoreless draw in the regular season finale despite Tech leading the shots 20-3.
• The Red Raiders enter Thursday's matchup with UCF unbeaten in 12-straight matches (6-0-6) dating back to an Oct. 23 loss at No. 22/7 Colorado, and riding a seven-match Big 12 opener (4-0-3) unbeaten streak since a 2-0, 2018 loss to West Virginia.
• Tech defeated Baylor 1-0 in the Big 12 opener last year and tied TCU in the opener in 2024. Tech downed UH in 2023 (3-0) and defeated OU 7-0 in 2021.
• Tech's fourth win in that span was 1-0 over OSU in 2019. Tech also drew Baylor (0-0) to open the 2020 season and drew WVU (1-1) in 2022.
• Tech's 12-match unbeaten streak is the longest in the Power Four and the third-longest in the country trailing UNCW (18) and St. Mary's (12).
• Tech enters the week riding a 25-match unbeaten streak when scoring (19-0-6) in a game (.880) and are now 70-4-15 when finding the back of the net in a contest since 2021 (.871).
• Tech's last loss when scoring in a match came in the Big 12 Semifinals back in 2024 against Kansas (2-1). A week after scoring her first career goal and winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, Kylie Bahr recorded two assists on her Senior Night, leading Tech to a big 3-0 win over Kent State.
• The multiple assist game was the first of her career and brings her career assist total to 11. She needs three more assists to crack the top-10 all-time in helpers (14).
• One match after Bahr recorded her first career strike (off a free kick service from Hays), Eleanor Hays found the back of the net for her first career goal burying a 50-yard free kick into the bottom corner of the net.
• Goalkeeper Addie Todd continues to impress in her first season with the Scarlet and Black, as the goalie enters the week 10th in the country in save percentage (.903) and 17th in GAA (.429) and total shutouts (4). Todd is now 25-4-8 as a starter (including FSU) and recorded her 15th career shutout (including her time in Tallahassee).

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders return home for the Big 12 home opener and the start of a three-game homestand beginning Thursday night (Sept. 24) against Cincinnati. First touch from the John Walker Soccer Complex is set for 7 p.m.