Feb. 20, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF men's soccer team dropped a 4-0 game to Swedish professional team GAIS of the Allsvenskan Division at UCF Soccer Field on Friday night.
Defender Rikard Ekunde gave GAIS the early lead with a goal at the 38-minute mark, but UCF freshman midfielder Mike Mattson had a chance to tie the score in the second half on a break away that was saved by goalkeeper Dime Jankulovski.
GAIS got a pair of goals from forward James Keane at the 60 and 70-minute marks before forward Kvame Amoateng scored the final tally in the 83-minute.
Both junior Brian Pope and sophomore Marcus Rein continued to split time in the UCF net.
GAIS is a top flight team coached by the legendary player Roland Nilsson, who has played more than 116 matches with the Swedish National Team, including appearances at the European Championship and World Cup.
"We were very fortunate that Coach Nilsson and GAIS agreed to play here at UCF," said the Golden Knights' head coach Brent Erwin. "Our players continue to learn important lessons from the professional teams that we have had the opportunity to compete against in the last three matches."
The Golden Knights, who have also played games against Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake in the past two weeks, switch gears when they take on West Virginia on March 11 at Bradenton's IMG Academy. Kickoff is set for 10:30 a.m.