Nov. 6, 2005
ORLANDO - Junior forward Mike Sambursky scored two goals as South Carolina defeated UCF, 4-1, in Conference USA men's soccer action on Sunday afternoon at the UCF Soccer Complex.
USC improved to 10-6-1 overall and 7-1-1 in the conference, while the Golden Knights ended their season at 7-8-1, 2-6-1. UCF fell short of making the 2005 C-USA Tournament as the loss enabled Tulsa (5-6-6, 2-4-3) to grab the eighth and final spot.
Senior defender Josh Acala got the Gamecocks on the board in the seventh minute when he scored off a mishandled serve by UCF senior goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh.
Ten minutes later, Sambursky netted the first of his two goals. Senior forward Ryan Deter passed the ball to Sambursky in the box and he scored low to the far side. Sambursky's second tally came in the 56th minute as he dribbled and scored low to the left.
Despite being down 3-0, the Golden Knights kept the pressure on the visitors. In the 74th minute, a shot by senior forward Jon Imran ricocheted off the post to freshman defender Jermaine Walters for his third goal of the year.
USC added their final score of game on a successful penalty kick by senior midfielder Eric Szeszycki with just 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
The two teams finished the afternoon even with 16 shots each, while UCF had a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. USC freshman goalkeeper Mike Gustavson made seven saves for the win, while McIntosh had four.
"Our players fought hard, but today just wasn't our day," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin. "We had a good year with only one conference loss at home. I am proud of how the team played in its first year in C-USA. We'll work hard on recruiting and on training in the off-season to even better represent UCF next year."