Oct. 14, 2005
DALLAS, Texas -Freshman forward Paulo da Silva scored on SMU's only shot on goal of the first half to give the league-leading Mustangs a 1-0 win over visiting UCF at Westcott Field on Friday night.
With the victory, SMU remained undefeated at 5-0 in Conference USA and moved to 7-4-2 overall, while the Golden Knights fell to 6-4-1 overall, 1-2-1 in C-USA.
Two of UCF's six shots in the first period landed on goal, but despite solid scoring chances, the Golden Knights couldn't find the back the net. Instead, da Silva recorded his second goal of the season in the 35th minute when he connected at the front of the net. He was assisted by senior Duke Hashimoto and sophomore Scott Corbin.
The Golden Knights battled to tie the match in the second half, earning four corner kicks to the Mustangs' two. They still couldn't capitalize on their opportunities and fell short of the upset.
UCF finished the night with an 8-5 advantage in corner kicks, while SMU owned a 19-11 margin in shots. Mustangs' sophomore goalkeeper Steve Sandbo made five saves, while senior Ryan McIntosh stopped three shots for the Golden Knights.
"We came to win, so obviously, we were disappointed with the result," said UCF first-year head coach Brent Erwin, who was an assistant coach at SMU for six years. "We really controlled play in the second half, constantly threatening the goal, but just couldn't score."
UCF caps off its road trip when the Golden Knights visit Tulsa on Sunday for a 2:35 p.m. kickoff.