Best of sports 2014

From the Knights kicking off the year with a bowl win worth of a fiesta, to the WPHS softball team making history, here's a recap of the Observer's best sports stories of 2014 as part of our annual "best of" year in review.

Knights win big

An electrified UCF did what no football team had done all of the 2013 season on the day after New Year’s: Get into a shootout with Baylor and win. The No. 15 Knights stormed the gridiron with a game plan unlike anything fans had seen during the season as they spun, scrambled and raced their way into the history books in an explosive 52-42 win over No. 6 Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. From the start of the game the Knights would never trail Baylor, allowing the Bears to only tie them once at 28-28 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Then the Knights did what they’ve done twice more this season - upset a team that was a heavy favorite. It would be called the biggest BCS Bowl upset ever by sports media outfit SBNation, with the No. 15 Knights trashing a No. 6 team the whole game. In a season in which the Knights narrowly escaped losses to teams with sub-.200 records, they never trailed and never let Baylor score more than twice in a row as the Bears’ explosive offense tried desperately to catch up. Relive the Knight’s historic season online at http://bit.ly/1IV04rf

Winter Park honors local soccer star

One Winter Park city employee’s son was fresh off representing his country on the world biggest sports stage earlier this year. The Winter Park City Commission recognized Team USA soccer player Graham Zusi during its Aug. 11 meeting for his time in Brazil playing in the FIFA World Cup tournament. Mayor Ken Bradley honored Graham by declaring Aug. 18, 2014 – Graham’s 28th birthday – as Graham Zusi Day. Graham’s father David received a standing ovation and accepted the proclamation on behalf of his son. The local soccer talent has built a reputation for scoring prowess throughout his career thus far. In Brazil, Graham assisted the game-winning goal versus Ghana and earned another assist against Portugal. Read more about Graham at http://bit.ly/1Gpwbgq

Softball team scores record season

The Winter Park Wildcats felt their hearts sink at the softball field on a sunny Saturday afternoon as Vero Beach High School tagged first base to get the final out in the bottom of the seventh to end the game. A score of 1-0 glowed in orange numbers on the scoreboard at the Wildcats’ diamond on May 3. A tough loss may not have been the result they wanted in the regional tournament semifinal matchup, but the girls in orange and white kept their heads held high. It wasn’t long before Winter Park’s softball squad was in better spirits. Most of them were already cracking jokes or heading to the snack bar by the time the bleachers emptied out. They knew that every swing, pitch and catch in that game was history in the making. The Winter Park Wildcats won the district championship and punched their first ticket to the regional tournament on April 18 with a 7-0 trouncing of Timber Creek High — earning the Wildcats’ first district title for softball in the program’s history. Read more about the team’s historic season at http://bit.ly/1yVBKlT

Diamond Dawgs take it all

For a brief moment, Sanford looked like it could become a championship team. Two runs in the bottom of the second inning scored on three straight hits and a sacrifice fly sent deep into center field, and the score was 2-1. But not for long. By that point, all signs had pointed to a Florida Collegiate Summer League trophy for the Rats. Sanford had already won the regular season championship, nipping the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs in the final weekend of the season. But the Dawgs would bite back, taking the championship game 6-4. Read more about the team’s championship season at http://bit.ly/1uKbQdo