Oct. 8, 2006
ORLANDO - A long night at the UCF Soccer Complex ended in a 2-2 draw between UCF and UAB in Conference USA men's soccer action. By the time the match ended, both teams had spent more than six hours at the complex trying to complete the contest. The Golden Knights built a 2-0 lead at the break, but the Blazers rallied to square the match at 2-2 following a 3:45 weather delay due to lightning in the area.
After outshooting the visitors 6-0 in the opening seven minutes of the match, UCF (3-6-1, 1-1-1 C-USA) continued to own the first half territorially. In the 20th minute, junior James Georgeff (New Castle, Australia) was able to capitalize and scored far side. Junior Rafael Teixeira assisted.
The Golden Knights extended their lead in the 41st minute. Freshman Jamal Robinson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Fort Wayne Northrop HS) served the ball into the box, where freshman Seung Tak Nam (Seoul, South Korea) sent a header into the net.
After the lengthy weather delay, play resumed just before Midnight at the complex. The Golden Knights continued to put pressure on the UAB defense by mounting eight shots in the second half, but could not convert on the scoring chances.
The Blazers (6-4-2, 1-1-1 C-USA) intensified their attack and posted 15 shots on goal, but were held off the scoreboard until the 80th minute when Jerson Monteiro found the back of the net on an assist from Derick Radcliff. UAB knotted the match at 2-2 just over a minute later when Two-Boys Gumede finished off a rebound.
"Obviously a nearly four-hour delay is not something you can plan or train for, but I am proud of the way my players came out and played tonight's game," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin. "In the first half, we were unlucky not to be up by three or four goals because their goalkeeper was fantastic. We know that UAB has wonderful players and they came out played very well after the delay. We had numerous chances to put the game away, including some near misses and their goalkeeper again made some excellent saves."
UCF had the best chances to score in the extra time, getting off six shots to the Blazers' two, but both teams went scoreless after regulation. The Golden Knights put 17 of their 29 shots on goal forcing UAB goalkeeper Jeremy Drake to make 15 saves. Marcus Rein made five saves in goal for UCF as the Blazers reeled off 21 shots. Texeira led all players with 10 shots.
Both teams had nine corner kicks in the match, with seven of those coming after the half for the Blazers.
"I am very proud of how our team played this week," said Erwin. "We came out Wednesday night and beat a very good Memphis team. Tonight we played a UAB team that was ranked in the top 25 for most of the year and were unfortunate to get at tie. Now, we have to prepare for the two tough matches ahead us this week."
The Golden Knights travel to No. 13 Kentucky on Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a 7 p.m. match before returning home to host No. 1 SMU on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 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.