Oct. 10, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF men's soccer team continues its sophomore campaign in Conference USA as the Golden Knights (3-6-1, 1-1-1 C-USA) visit No. 18 Kentucky (8-2-1, 1-1-0 C-USA) on Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a 7 p.m. match.
The game marks UCF's third consecutive outing against a team ranked in the national polls within the last two weeks. The Golden Knights started the run with a 1-0 upset of No. 17 Memphis on Oct. 4 and followed by a 2-2 double overtime tie with UAB, a squad that was ranked No. 25 the previous week and is currently receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
"We have a lot of respect for our opponents but we also believe in our abilities as a team," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin. "We played well against Memphis and UAB last week and we will be looking for the same type of effort against a very good Kentucky team tomorrow night."
With nearly half of the league schedule played, the Golden Knights rank in the middle of the standings with four points. The final five matches, including the rescheduled match Marshall, are undeniably important as all the teams fight for position in the conference tournament.
Kentucky sits just below UCF in the conference after losing to No. 1 SMU by a score of 4-0 on Saturday. Prior to that match, freshman goalkeeper Dan Williams and the UK defense had only allowed five goals in their previous 11 games. Despite the loss, Williams is still second in C-USA with a 0.81 goals-against-average.
The Wildcats are second only to SMU in all of the league's offensive categories, while senior Riley O'Neill, the reigning NSCAA National Player of the Week, leads all C-USA players with 12 goals and three points for 27 points. He is ranked seventh in the nation in points per game and tied for fifth in goals per game.
The Golden Knights next home match is against top-ranked SMU on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the UCF Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Admission to home UCF men's soccer matches for the 2006 season is free courtesy of McDonald's. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.