Feb. 20, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Despite a strong second half by the UCF men's soccer team, Swedish professional team GAIS defeated the Golden Knights, 2-0, in an exhibition match at the UCF Soccer Complex on Tuesday night.
Both goals scored by GAIS were created off corner kicks. The visitor's first tally was a header in the 20th minute, while the second goal was a low shot to the right corner in the 55th minute.
UCF's best chances to score came in the second half. In the 63rd minute, sophomore Chris Andaur's (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) shot from 25 yards was blocked, while a dangerous pass from freshman Cam Jordan (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury HS) to classmate Akin Akinrinade (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville HS) was knocked away by the GAIS defense.
Junior goalkeeper Brian Pope (Durham, N.H./Oyster River HS) made six saves on the night.
"Our players were nervous in the first half," UCF interim head coach Bryan Cunningham. "We settled down in the second half and had some great chances to score. It was just unfortunate that we were unable to finish them"
Training at UCF since Feb. 12, GAIS is a professional club that finished 10th in Sweden's top league Allsvenskan last year. UCF has also faced Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo this spring.
"We have played three quality opponents in the last seven days," said Cunningham. "Our players have risen to the challenge and take it head on. We will use what we learned from these matches and continue training over the next month to get ready for our next opponent."
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