Oct. 27, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team faces in-state rival Stetson in its regular season home finale on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.
Coming off a 1-0 shutout of Conference USA rival Florida International on Wednesday, the Golden Knights (4-8-2, 2-3-2 C-USA) are looking to go undefeated against in-state opponents with a win against the Hatters. In addition to the victory over FIU, UCF also beat North Florida, 2-0, on Sept. 7.
Junior transfer Brian Pope (Durham, N.H./Oyster River HS) made four saves against the Golden Panthers to post his first shutout as a Golden Knight. He also added an assist on freshman Cam Jordan's game-winning goal, marking the first time that a Golden Knights' goalkeeper earned an assist since John Gildea in September 1991. Pope has started the last three matches for UCF and has a 1.24 goals-against-average (GAA).
Stetson (6-9-2) won the regular season championship in the Atlantic Sun thanks to a 5-0-2 conference record. Junior Tanner Wolfe leads the Hatters in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points, while sophomore goalkeeper Alessandro Barcherini has posted a 1.64 GAA in 12 matches.
The Golden Knights have met their former A-Sun rival 35 times during the history of the program and own a 26-8-1 record in the series, including a 1-0 victory in Orlando last year.
Immediately following the game against Stetson, UCF will fly to Tulsa, Okla., where they take on Marshall on Monday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. in a rescheduled match that has conference tournament implications.
Three schools are battling over the final two tournament berths. With the win over FIU, UCF has collected eight points, moving into seventh in the league standings. Marshall (4-8-2, 1-4-1 C-USA) currently sits in ninth with four points and is scheduled to play at No. 1 SMU Saturday, while Florida International enters the weekend in eighth with six points and hosts UAB the same day. Only the top eight teams make the 2006 C-USA Men's Soccer Championship, which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in Tulsa.
The UCF-Marshall contest was originally slated for Sept. 30 in Huntington, W.Va., but was postponed due to poor field conditions.
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.