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Men's Soccer Faces North Florida in Home Opener

Sept. 6, 2006

ORLANDO - The UCF men's soccer team plays at home for the first time this season when it faces off against North Florida at the UCF Soccer Complex on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Golden Knights (0-4-0) have spent the first two weekends of the 2006 campaign against tough competition at tournaments in North and South Carolina. They opened against Wake Forest, a squad that is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation, and top-ranked North Carolina at the Wake Forest Invitational.

The team then visited Charleston, S.C. for the Aaron Olitzky Memorial Classic last weekend. Dropping game one to UNC-Wilmington on Saturday, UCF battled host College of Charleston in Sunday's match and despite losing, outplayed the Cougars offensively. Freshman Jamal Robinson scored both of UCF's goals in the two contests.

North Florida brings at 2-2-0 record to Orlando after losing one-goal games to Georgia State and Central Arkansas. The Ospreys are led by sophomore forward Akil Burgen, who scored a pair of goals in the 3-2 loss to Central Arkansas.

"We are looking forward to the chance to play at home. Games against in-state rivals are always competitive and North Florida is a good team," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin. "For us, it is important to play a good game in front of our home crowd."

Last year, in the first meeting between the two teams, UCF defeated UNF by a score of 3-1 in Jacksonville.