| UCF at Temple Sat., Sep. 17, 7:00 p.m. WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO – The UCF men's soccer team is set for its first American Athletic Conference matchup of the season, visiting Temple on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Knights are out to their best start in over a decade, earning three wins in their first four matches for the first time since 2011 when the Black and Gold started the campaign with five straight wins. UCF began the 2022 campaign with a loss, which they have done for four straight seasons. Following the 1-0 defeat at the hands of No. 15 Wake Forest to open the season, the Knights have charged on to three straight victories, beating North Florida 2-1, UC Riverside 3-0 and UC Irvine 3-2.
Lucca Dourado tallied a pair of goals in the victory over the Anteaters last Friday, bringing his total to three on the season. Maël Haise's 77th minute goal from a Gino Vivi corner kick won the Knights the contest. Dourado and Haise's performance last week earned them a spot on The American's weekly honor roll. Mauricio Villalobos Vega brings a three-match point streak into Saturday's game, earning four assists over the past three matches.
Dourado and Vivi have been a force for opponents to reckon with for some time now, as the pair have been responsible for 32 of the team's last 59 goals dating back to a point in the 2020-21 season. The tandem has four of UCF's eight scores in 2022 and had 20 of 43 goals in the 2021 campaign.
The Knights have dominated the all-time series against Temple, currently holding an 8-2-2 lead and outscoring the Owls 23-4 over the last 10 matches. The two sides faced each other four times in 2021, twice in the spring 2020-21 season and the other two during the fall. UCF came away with wins each time.
Temple comes into the match with a record of 2-2-2 this season, with wins against Saint Peter's and Lehigh. The Owls are averaging 1.5 goals per match, ranking 86th nationally. They've surrendered 1.833 goals per match, ranking 145th in the country. Mike Eijgendaal leads the team in scoring with two goals and five assists, resulting in nine points.
UCF has been a staple in The American's postseason tournament in recent years, reaching the final in five consecutive seasons and reaching at least the semifinal in seven of its nine years in the league. The Black and Gold won three straight regular season conference titles (2018, 2019, 2020-21) and one tournament crown in its time in the conference. The Knights are set for one final run in The American before transitioning to the Sun Belt next season.
This year's conference schedule will feature one game against each of the conference's nine other teams, including four that are new to the conference this season. The league played 10 conference games in a double round robin format over the previous two seasons.
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