Oct. 25, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Junior Brian Pope (Durham, N.H./Oyster River HS) made four saves and recorded an assist on freshman Cam Jordan's (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury HS) goal as UCF blanked Florida International, 1-0, in Conference USA men's soccer action at the UCF Soccer Complex on Wednesday night.
The Golden Knights improved to 4-8-2 overall and 2-3-2 in C-USA, while FIU dropped to 6-8-2 and 2-5-0 in league play.
"It feels good to win on our homefield, in front of our home crowd. FIU is a very god team and it is always satisfying to beat in-state opponents. The guys gave a gutsy performance," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin. "With the league being so tight, points are very important. We really needed those points to put us in better position as the regular season comes to a close."
The Golden Panthers had the first chance to score in the 17th minute when David Hope hit the right post, but Jordan found the back of the net in the 31st minute for his first collegiate goal. Jordan corralled the ball off Pope's goal kick and shot it toward FIU goalkeeper Kyle Thomas, who got a piece of it before it bounced behind him.
Sophomore Chris Andaur, who transferred from FIU prior to the start of the 2006 season, had the opportunity to give UCF a 2-0 edge in the 88th minute. He took a cross from sophomore Jake Howard (Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson HS) in the box but his shot went high over the crossbar.
Although the Golden Knights outshot the Golden Panthers in the first half by a 6-4 margin, FIU finished the night with a 10-9 advantage in shots. Thomas made two saves, while Pope had his four to record the first shutout of his UCF career.
"Pope played very well keeping thing clean in the back despite not having to make many saves," said Erwin. "All the guys played well. By winning tonight, we are taking a positive step toward making the conference tournament."
UCF returns to action against former Atlantic Sun rival Stetson on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. in their home finale. The Golden Knights have also rescheduled their match against Marshall for Monday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla. prior to the tournament, which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
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.