Sept. 9, 2007
UCF vs. Loyola Marymouth Box Score in PDF Format
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ALBUQURQUE, N.M. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Freshmen Matt Luzunaris (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./West Boca Raton HS) and Sean Johnson (Lilburn, Ga./Brookwood HS) helped the UCF men's soccer team take a 1-0 victory over Loyola Marymount (1-2-0) in the final day of the Nike/TLC Plumbing and Utility Invitational on Sunday.
Going 2-0 during the two-day competition, the Knights (2-1-0) won the overall title, while senior forward James Georgeff (New Castle, Australia), junior midfielder Ryan Roushandel (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School), redshirt freshman defender Kyle Pascioni (Lake Mary HS) and Johnson made the all-tournament team.
"I am very pleased with the way the team played this weekend," said first-year head coach Bryan Cunningham. "Ryan and James have shown great leadership on the field, keeping the rest of the players composed and helping the team maintain our shape."
After the two teams went scoreless in the first half of Sunday morning's match, the Knights' offense finally struck in the 66th minute off the boot of Luzunaris. Junior Mike Mattson (Boca Raton, Fla./Pope John Paul II HS) passed the ball from the middle to the freshman forward, who beat Lions' goalkeeper Patrick Lane (three saves) on shot that went from right to left.
"We were able to use Mike in a variety of ways on the field," said Cunningham. "He picked up the ball in the middle and made the pass to Matt for a nice goal."
Johnson, the Knights' rookie goalkeeper, continued to play well, making seven saves in the match - including two big ones as the Lions were pushing to tie in the final minutes of the contest. The shutout was the first of his collegiate career.
"Sean was able to maintain control in the box and make the saves. He did exactly what we expected him to do," said Cunningham.
The Knights return to Orlando for their home opener against Stetson on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the UCF Soccer Complex. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Admission to the match is free.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics.